The new £9m facility will begin manufacturing later in 2019, supplying trade extrusions. Garnalex is then looking to launch an aluminium window system by the end of Q1 2020.
Heavy machinery moving specialists Joseph Merritt Group Plc which is based in Kirkby in Ashfield, was appointed to provide lifting equipment and a mechanical installation team to offload and install a SMS HybrEx extrusion machine and a OMAV furnace. In total the Aluminium extrusion press weighed over 170 tonnes.
Commenting on the machinery installation project, Ross Hartshorn, Garnalex Technical Production Director said, “We are very excited by the purchase of our new equipment and cannot wait to get the facility up and running. Merritts have been the perfect partner to work with throughout the project. Their machinery installation knowledge has been of great value and they have cohesively worked with the OEM engineers to complete works well within the expected timeframe. Their attention to health and safety issues and professionalism when on site has been exemplary and we look forward to working with them on future projects.”
Garnalex is a new aluminium extrusion house that was formed in March 2018 by Roger Hartshorn, who is best known for founding, growing and selling two leading PVC-U systems companies, Eurocell and Liniar.
The £9 million investment into the 100,000 sq ft factory will allow Garnalex to extrude 4 tonnes of aluminium an hour on the SMS Hybrex Press.
