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Building products manufacturer Forterra showed its new Desford brick factory to Dr Luke Evans, MP for Hinckley and Bosworth on Friday 9th October.
When it starts production in 2022, the £95m Desford expansion will be the largest and most efficient brick facility in Europe.
Dr Evans and his team were given a tour of the factory under construction before discussing the progress and logistics of the project with Forterra chief financial officer Ben Guyatt, operations director George Stewart, and Gino Pastorino, the project director for the new factory.
The new development is being built alongside the current factory in order to ensure that the latter remains operational throughout construction and to maintain production during the changeover. The expansion is expected to commence production in 2022, at which point the projected capacity is 180 million bricks per annum – enough to build 24,000 family homes.
The modernised Desford site will offer a range of red and buff bricks designed to meet the demands of house builders.
Dr Evans said: “Desford brick factory has been an important part of our community and economy for many years, Forterra are building on that legacy with their plans for growth and jobs which can only benefit our area in the years and generations to come.
“It was wonderful to see the developments that are taking place at Forterra in Desford, and the process for making bricks. It’s easy to forget just how important companies like Forterra are to our lives, but without them we literally would not have the homes that families need.”
“We were delighted to welcome Dr Evans to our new facility,” Guyatt added. “We’re incredibly proud of the investment we’ve been able to make at Desford – it’s truly a testament to the success and hard work made by all our colleagues in the past five years that we’re now able to reinvest for the future of our business with this state of the art factory.
“Not only that, but it’s great to see MPs take a genuine interest in their constituency and the work that goes on within it. This visit is the latest milestone in a great working relationship with our local Member of Parliament.”
