Global manufacturer snaps up 114 acres for ‘state-of-the-art facility’
Global insulation manufacturer ROCKWOOL has agreed to acquire 114 acres of land in Birmingham to build a state-of-the-art manufacturing facility.
The land in Peddimore is included in Birmingham City Council’s Development Plan and has outline planning permission for a manufacturing facility. Key infrastructure including a new access road and roundabout into the site is already in place, servicing an adjacent facility built in 2023.
The major investment by ROCKWOOL will create skilled long-term jobs and local supply chain opportunities, as well as help to work towards achieving the UK’s net zero targets. It will join part of the ROCKWOOL Group, which has one UK factory based in Bridgend, South Wales and more than 500 employees.
The new facility would boost capacity for UK and Republic of Ireland customers and feature electric melting technology for stone wool insulation products.
ROCKWOOL will begin consulting with the community about its plans and submit applications to Birmingham City Council to adapt the existing planning permissions to its specific proposal.
Nick Wilson, managing director of ROCKWOOL UK & Ireland said: “We’re very excited at the opportunity to expand the business into the West Midlands that would enable us to boost our production capacity in the UK and to create quality jobs and business opportunities in the local community. During the past 45 years, we have built a strong foundation at our site in South Wales where we will continue to manufacture and invest for the long-term, and are now looking to build on that success with a second manufacturing plant at the Peddimore site.
“The West Midlands has a skilled, local workforce, a strong manufacturing tradition, and excellent transport links, so it is an ideal location for us to expand our business in the UK and bolster our service to customers in the Midlands and across the north of England and Scotland. We’re looking forward to sharing our plans with the local community and are fully committed to being a good neighbour and partner for the Minworth and wider West Midlands community.”