New and refurbished homes across the UK will soon feature the next generation of environmentally friendly and energy efficient building materials developed by construction technologists GRP LTD.

The Paisley-based company is opening up its first southern manufacturing plant after taking over a rival company in Bolton, Lancashire. The move gives GRP Ltd the capacity to increase production of its state-of-the-art composite moulded construction materials and secures a foothold in a market estimated to be worth £75 million a year and growing.

Backed by Scottish Enterprise Renfrewshire, Managing Director Bob Davy and production director Rod Wilson said the move would help GRP Ltd double its current £2 million turnover over the next three years and significantly increase its 48 strong workforce. The company are currently supplying GRP products to Bellway Homes & Robertson Homes who are two of the major house builders in Scotland and now with the Midlands office into the rest of the UK, replacing many of the traditional building materials such as wood and stone etc, with an easy to handle and install, lightweight alternative


Production manager, Rod Wilson explained:“The range of applications for this type of material is growing all the time and we are currently expanding our research and development arm to take advantage of this growing market.”

“Composite materials are more durable than natural materials requiring less maintenance. They are also more cost effective to manufacture and can be installed in a fraction of the time.”

“Their lightweight construction makes them easier to work with and that is a huge plus point from a health and safety point of view.”

The increasing pressure on construction companies to build homes that are more energy efficient will mean more and more composite materials being used.

“In addition to the house builders we are also supplying into the automotive, telecoms, marine and leisure markets for the same principle reasons”.

“Highly insulated composites can be produced which make them the ideal choice for homes of the future,” said Mr Davy.

"We are currently working on the next generation of materials that can be used in an ever increasing number ways to help make every new home built as ‘green’ as possible.”

(CD)