Telford brickmaker Blockleys in £500,000 robotics investment

Blockleys Bricks, part of the Michelmersh Brick Holdings group, has installed the new equipment in a bid to drive efficiencies at the site in Trench Lock.

With the construction sector continuing to grow over the course of the last year, the company delivered growth in revenue, which translated into improve profits thanks in part to efficiencies in the business.

Turnover grew by two per cent to £29.1 million but pre-tax profit almost doubled, soaring to £4.56 million from £2.6m the year before.

At the same time Michelmersh wiped out its net debt, ending the year with £2.9m cash instead of the £2.1m net debt at the start of the year.

The dividend payout to its investors has been doubled to 1p per share.

Efficiencies

Joint chief executive Frank Hanna said: "The robots are in at Telford already, and they give us the ability to drive efficiencies in the company though improved software and technology.

"The improved efficiencies give us an improved output with the same labour force we already had. It has also helped us to improve the product offering."

With an expansion plan at the company's headquarters, in West Sussex, brick production at Michelmersh was up three per cent last year to 69.5 million, helping to rebuild stocks to workable levels after they had become seriously run down during the recession.

Demand saw average selling prices up by nine per cent for the group, which employs 300 people across its sites.

The Telford site is partly responsible for high-end bricks, such as those used in the construction of ITV's new home at Media City in Manchester recently, and 2015 saw the completion of further landmark jobs using the site's bricks including at Goodge Street in London.

Mr Hanna said he was hopeful that the momentum would continue towards the end of the decade.

"The figures that are coming out are forecasting increasing house numbers between now and 2019, so it's relatively positive," he said."

Landfill at the Telford site has also been temporarily drawn to a close in an effort to let the company focus on its clay reserves, to meet future demand for bricks.

Eric Gadsden, chairman at Michelmersh Brick Holdings, said: "The group has had a very good year both in terms of reported results but also with the continued development of management and systems, all of which means the group is well placed to continue its success in the future.

Service

"The product offering remains targeted at premium sectors and our service levels are wedded to our key customers."

He added: "The period under review saw the completion of our expansion project at Freshfield Lane and installation of packaging robots at Blockleys.

"These developments were achieved for relatively modest outlays but lay capacity and efficiency foundations for future periods."