Hartlepool-based The Expanded Metal Company has announced that it is to benefit from major investment totalling up to £1m over 2018.
The investment programme will reportedly include the upgrading of buildings on the company’s 25,000sqm site in Hartlepool, refurbishing specialist manufacturing equipment, acquiring new machinery and replacing existing lighting with more energy-efficient LED lighting systems.
All the work is expected to be completed by the end of the year.
The Expanded Metal Company has a rich industrial heritage dating back to 1889 and was founded by John French Golding, the inventor and patentee of expanded metal.
The firm’s site is described as a well-established global centre for expanded metal expertise and The Expanded Metal Company supplies high quality expanded metal mesh products for sectors including construction, filtration, engineering, transport, utilities, automotive, aerospace and architecture.
The company also has its own security range, ExMesh, which offers innovative fencing systems and security products which are designed to protect people, property and infrastructure from a broad array of threats.
As part of the investment programme, the company’s 75 machine – which was commissioned in 1969 and is believed to be one of the widest expanded metal mesh presses in Europe – recently underwent an extensive refurbishment.
It is one of only a handful of such machines operating across the globe and is highly effective at producing expanded metal mesh for fencing, walkways and ramps, as well as specialist hard materials.
The Expanded Metal Company was acquired by US-based private investment firm Empire Investment Holdings from Gibraltar Industries Inc. in 2016, and was previously part of the Expamet group of companies.
Since 2016, the manufacturer has introduced several new products to its expanded metal mesh ranges, as well as launching a range of products for use in the construction industry, including brick reinforcement mesh, expanded metal laths, vent meshes and bolt boxes, and developing Square Mesh, a lightweight demarcation and fencing solution.
In addition, The Expanded Metal Company has bolstered its operational, engineering and business development teams and recently recruited a number of apprentices as part of its commitment to building engineering skills in the North East’s workforce and developing the next-generation of expanded metal mesh specialists.