British Offsite, the build offsite company of Weston Group plc, has launched 'Horizon', a new £45million, 137,000sq ft facility in Braintree, designed in collaboration with Swedish robotic engineering firm Randek AB.
Once fully operational, the new factory in the Horizon Business Park will be able to assist with the delivery of up to 4,000 new homes per year, with building components provided to both Weston Homes, the Group's volume housebuilding division, and also sold on the open market to builders and contractors, including local and regional housebuilders.
The Horizon factory will produce British Offsite's panellised UniSystem range that includes light gauge panels, walls, roofs and floors, with the panels having windows, doors, insulation, vents, fire stopping and external cladding in place, manufactured exactly to a developer's needs. The UniSystem is a specially developed hybrid MMC that is highly flexible and allows rapid integration into traditional building design.
The initial design concepts and commissioning of technology for the factory started three years ago, with the actual construction of the building taking 12 months. The completed factory has a glass and Trimco-panels façade with solar panels on the roof to help ensure sustainability and maximum power generation, with special energy monitoring systems to review factory production capacity.
Underlining the ambitions of the factory, each of the robots is named after UK cities: Edinburgh (robot 1), Cardiff (2), Belfast (3), London (4), Manchester (5), Liverpool (6), York (7) and Cambridge (8). The production line delivery is not limited to housebuilding and has the capacity for doing modular school buildings, healthcare facilities and student accommodation. Alongside the triple-height main factory floorspace containing the production line, there are a 1,860sq m office, R&D suite, marketing and staff welfare facilities including a canteen and health-screening clinic.
Bob Weston, Chairman of British Offsite & Weston Group said: "Working with Randek AB, the launch of the 'Horizon' factory has created one of the most automated light gauge steel panel assembly lines in Europe and the largest single production line in the UK. Offsite construction is the future of the housebuilding industry and homes manufactured at 'Horizon' can be tailored to a development's unique design vision."
Shaun Weston, Managing Director of British Offsite added: "British Offsite is proud to be part of the new wave of high-tech British manufacturing, bringing very significant new capabilities to the UK construction industry. The new robotic production line at 'Horizon' allows for the consolidation of the work of up to five trades into one panel. Our MMC products are designed to be easily integrated into existing projects, helping to streamline traditional residential construction."
Source: www.britishoffsite.com
