Company expansion
Glass Times catches up with Jon Palethorpe, co-director of A Plus Aluminium, who explains more about the company’s recent investment in a new manufacturing and storage facility and the creation of A Plus Midlands.
Starting out as a trade only manufacturer servicing the residential market back in 1986, A Plus Aluminium has gone through several periods of careful and consistent development, including the acquisition of A Plus Joinery amongst others, and expansion into the commercial market.
Today, the specialist trade fabricator, led by managing directors and shareholders Steve Warr and Jon Palethorpe, focusses on manufacturing aluminium products for its trade, residential and commercial customers.
“When the business started, aluminium was strong in the residential market, this later contracted with the rise of other materials, but we always believed in the benefits and remained focussed on it,” comments Jon Palethorpe, co-managing director of A Plus Aluminium.
According to John, A Plus is now reaping the reward of surging domestic and commercial interest in aluminium fenestration products.
He adds that aesthetics and recyclability are amongst the two most popular reasons for choosing aluminium, regardless of the target market.
“Aluminium is aesthetically pleasing and can accept several surface finishes in any number of colours and textures. That offers designers and architects versatility,” says John. “It is also infinitely recyclable, without any loss of quality and remelting requires little energy. In fact, today, aluminium can be recycled back into its original grades.”
Strategic investment
To capitalise on this growth, A Plus made a bold decision, pre-pandemic, to expand. Jon and Steve have delivered on this, opening a new 20,000ft2 manufacturing and storage space, referred to as A Plus Midlands, in Sandy, Bedfordshire.
Part of a long-term, strategic investment plan, this investment has created more than 20 jobs and has the potential to double capacity.
Jon continues: “The opening of A Plus Midlands represents a significant step forward. It is part of the future of our company, a foundation for long-term growth and development. The past few years have been tough for everyone, but we are excited to be in our new facility and proud to be creating jobs at what is an incredibly challenging time, economically.”
A Plus Midlands is some 50+ miles north of the company’s headquarters in Watford.
Dedicated service
“Our aim is that, in time, each A Plus site will evolve and serve dedicated markets – Watford will focus on our commercial and project clients, near to the southeast and greater London market and with easy access to the road network for our midlands and northern customers, while Sandy will become our core trade residential factory. For now, Watford will remain our central hub, providing a base for our administrative and technical staff.”
In boosting its manufacturing capabilities, A Plus can capitalise on the growing aluminium market and manage increased demand across the country. The new premises provides additional capacity for the existing customer base and important access to the northern home counties and across the midlands.
The expansion also boosts the company’s credential as a reliable supply chain partner. “Our customers are looking for responsive suppliers closer to home,” continues, Jon. “Manufacturing in Britain offers control over every step of the manufacturing process – an important factor in this post-Brexit, post-pandemic economy. In doubling our capacity and expanding our reach, we can respond to customer demands and live up to the highest expectations – delivering exceptional aluminium windows and doors.”
A Plus Midlands is now operational, manufacturing high-quality, bespoke aluminium window and door products for trade residential customers, making use of modern production processes, including three CNC machines. The substantial yard, meanwhile, offers ample storage for stock which ensures a fast turnaround and low lead times.
The site will benefit from additional significant investment over the coming months and more jobs are planned across factory operations, including fabrication.