Manufacturer set for expansion

Graeme Hawes, (MD PLG Glass), Lesley Williams (HP regional manager, Lloyds), Simon Quin (head of trade, Lloyds), Mark Smith (relations director, Lloyds), Adrian Philp (client manager commercial finance, Lloyds) and Gary Dobson (ops manager, PLG Glass).
Graeme Hawes, (MD PLG Glass), Lesley Williams (HP regional manager, Lloyds), Simon Quin (head of trade, Lloyds), Mark Smith (relations director, Lloyds), Adrian Philp (client manager commercial finance, Lloyds) and Gary Dobson (ops manager, PLG Glass).

County Durham-based PLG Glass has purchased a new glass toughening furnace, a vertical CNC station, and glass washing machine with support of a £950,000 asset finance package from Lloyds Bank Commercial Banking. 

Investing in the new machinery will enable the company to offer over-size glass processing and streamline its production processes resulting in improved productivity to reduce lead-time and drive sales growth.

The investment follows a significant period of expansion for the company, which moved to a new 60,000ft2 site in July this year. The new premises will boost productivity and enable the company to continue to grow its customer base over the coming years, PLG said. 

PLG Glass was founded in 1977, starting as a call out emergency glazing service. It now manufactures specialist glass products for retail, architectural and domestic use, and works with more than 280 clients across the country. 

Graeme Hawes, managing director at PLG Glass, said: “We’re celebrating our 40th birthday this year and it’s great to mark such a significant year with an investment that will help us to continue to grow and thrive. 

“The new machinery will enable us to process larger sheets of glass, speed up production processes and continue to provide a high-quality service to our clients across a more diverse range of products.

“Investing in specialist machinery can be a substantial expense but Lloyds Bank provided us with a hire purchase and trade finance facility, which enabled us to execute the project without impacting our day-to-day cash flow.”