Company news
ALAN DUNCAN MP OPENS NEW MILLWORKING PLANT AT JELD-WEN
26/07/2010
The Rt Hon Alan Duncan MP officially opened the new timber millworking plant on Thorpe Road in Melton Mowbray for local window, door and stair manufacturer JELD-WEN on Friday 16th July.
The company has invested over £2m in plant and equipment for the new factory and has already created over 30 new jobs, which is great news for the local economy. The new equipment includes a fully integrated production line, which means JELD-WEN can operate shorter production runs and benefit from a quicker changeover time, as part of being even more efficient and responsive to customer requirements. The new millworking plant will produce timber window, door and patio door components for JELD-WEN that will be used both in Melton Mowbray and other factories around the UK.
John Shaw, Production and Commercial director at JELD-WEN, explains: “This is a really exciting time for our company and we were delighted to be able to show Mr Duncan MP what a major investment we have made here. Most of the new staff are from Melton or the surrounding areas, some are skilled craftsmen already and many have undergone an intensive training programme with the machinery suppliers. The new millworking plant will mean we can be even more responsive to customer needs and control stock levels and factory throughputs far easier, using JELD-WEN’s own paperless production system. In today’s market, customers want products made to their exact requirements on quick lead times. This new set up means we can be more flexible as it takes less than 15 minutes to change the machine over to a completely different product line.”
He adds: “After the tough market conditions of the past 18 months, we are delighted to be looking to the future with renewed optimism and we expect this latest investment will help us to enhance our service and develop our business with existing and new customers.”
The new millworking plant is located on a seven acre site, with room for expansion, as John Shaw explains: “We will eventually be running a three shift system and expect the mill to be operating to near capacity over the next 12 months. This is part of our ambitious plans for the future, and shows our true commitment to manufacturing products in the UK, where many other manufacturers are only assembling and finishing products over here, with cheap components shipped in from abroad.”
The plant has its own advanced preservative treatment facility, which is an important part of JELD-WEN’s flexibility and means the company does not have to rely on outside suppliers to complete this important part of the production process. JELD-WEN’s preservative treatment process improves performance and prolongs the products’ lifespan in conjunction with its new, industry leading, 40 year guarantee against fungal rot and decay.
JELD-WEN is one of the largest employers in Melton Mowbray, with two dedicated factories producing windows and stairs for the new build, and refurbishment markets across the UK.
As part of its commitment to good environmental stewardship, timber used at the windows factory comes from certificated sustainable sources.
