A £1 million investment in manufacturing is now complete at a Lochmaben roof tile firm.
It took five months for the upgrade at the Russell Roof Tiles (RRT), which includes a new and better-insulated curing chamber with a modern and improved heating system installed.
Bosses say it will improve efficiencies at the 11-acre site in Halleaths and speed up manufacturing there.
The company employs approximately 50 staff at Lochmaben and is also boosting its workforce locally, increasing shifts to expand capacity and meet the needs of the construction sector.
Operations director Bruce Laidlaw, above, said: “The new curing chamber provides us with more capacity which is almost three times larger, which means we can increase our output to meet the growing market demands. The machinery utilises the latest technology to make it more efficient, helping our efforts to save energy and reduce our carbon footprint.”
Welcoming the investment, Scottish Secretary Alister Jack MP, who recently visited, said: “It is great news that Russell Roof Tiles has made a further investment in their Lochmaben site. It’s really good to see such confidence in Scottish manufacturing, and it will be a further boost to the local economy and community.
“When I visited the company, I saw for myself what an incredibly impressive operation they have. They have a great team who are committed to using the very best technology in their manufacturing processes.”
The recent work followed a £ 2million utility plant investment last year, which involved the firm’s first robotic packer helping to increase production speeds and efficiency.
Russell Roof Tiles supplies products for house builders and high-profile social housing and commercial projects.
The company produces thousands of tiles every week that are used on roofs across the country.
