Cornwall Glass Manufacturing has committed to more than triple the size of its Highbridge IGU and glass processing operation as part of a £6m investment programme. To be delivered over three-years, the investment programme will give the company’s Highbridge IGU lines new capacity to handle jumbos as well as to manufacture oversized units.

The operation will also house a new heat soak oven and autoclave, reflecting increased demand for heat-soaked products from the commercial sector, as well as laminated and specialist products. It should create up to 30 new jobs.

Mark Mitchell, chairman of the Cornwall Group, said: “What Highbridge will give us, at the end of that journey, is one of the UK’s most advanced manufacturing facilities, with the ability to handle and process almost any product, from oversized IGUs through to walk-on insulated glass units, non-slip glass floors, staircases and other specialist processed glass products. While the market remains competitive, we see significant opportunities going forward. Investment in our Highbridge site gives us new reach along the M4 corridor and the southern half of the UK.”

The investment programme takes the site from 15,000ft2 to 55,000 ft2, making it the largest of the Cornwall Group manufacturing division’s three sites. The group’s plans for Highbridge follow the six-figure investment in a new Bottero 520 LAM(e)/37 cutting table for its St Austell site, announced by Cornwall Glass Manufacturing last month. The move significantly increased the glass processor’s laminate capability in line with exponential growth in demand.

Mark continued: “It’s not about St Austell. It’s not about Plymouth, despite the investment that we’re now making. It’s also not about Highbridge. It’s about the combined capability that those three sites deliver. Collectively, they give us a range of specialisms, an extensive product offer and an operational infrastructure, which supports us in delivering a very flexible and efficient service to our customers.”