The family-owned firm which has its headquarters at Fivemiletown has invested around £0.6m on a new Batching Plant that will allow it to develop more advanced mix designs leading to more efficient and quicker production with better quality finishes in its Precast products. Meanwhile it has also refurbished a number of its Hollowcore beds used in the production of its market-leading Hollowcore flooring that has been used in many prestigious projects in the UK and Ireland. Two other major capital expenditure items including a new Prensoland Saw and an industry-specific vacuum have brought the investment figure to more than £1m. AG Group Chief Financial Officer, Keith Scott says the investments are a response to the ‘strategic needs’ and ‘opportunities’ within the business. He continued: “Recent significant increases in sales of our hard landscaping, building and structural precast products, especially in Britain, have driven the need to increase both efficiencies and capacity. These investments, coupled with extended overtime shifts at both Ballygawley and one of other plants at Fivemiletown will equip us to continue our growth trajectory whilst driving up capacity across the business.” Around 105 people are employed at AG’s Ballygawley plant which makes Precast products used in a number of high profile construction schemes including Omagh Hospital, the Waterfront Hotel and Altnagelvin Hospital. GB sales now account for almost 60% of group turnover which currently stands at £37m – up year on year from £35.4m. Keith Scott says AG’s business success can be largely attributed to its focus on innovation and new product development. He added: “Our greatest success stories come from our desire to help solve problems through the creation of ground-breaking build materials. Our recently re-branded PlateSpan is a good example of a product that can save weeks on build programmes whilst our top-mix paving sought to solve the problem of fading colours by concentrating the colour in a stronger surface. TerraPave® meanwhile was created to solve the problem of specifiers needing to import granite materials from places like China by factory-engineering a superior product that could be made locally.” The CFO added a major order had been secured for its mortarless brick cladding product, Novabrik® which can be applied to the outer skins of buildings without the need for a skilled bricklayer. “Given the dearth of bricklayers across the UK and Ireland and current explosion within the social housing sector we are anticipating significant further interest in Novabrik®.” Established in 1960, AG is one of the most trusted producers of concrete products in Northern Ireland and beyond. Now an employer of more than 420 people, across nine sites located at Fivemiletown, Dungannon, Ballygawley, Birmingham, Magherafelt, Carryduff, Toome, Pomeroy and Derry it remains a family-run business, committed to the highest standards of product quality, company culture and staff care.
