Cornwall Group is set to invest £5 million in plant, machinery and IT over the next 18 months. This figure is over and above the investment in the acquisition of Forward Glass last year.
“Plant and machinery is at the forefront of most of that £5 million in 2024 and 2025, including two toughening plants,” CHAIR Mark Mitchell said. “Hopefully it won’t be thrown off course with inflation and the state of the economy. But we take a longer view than businesses that have multiple stakeholders. Our view is with an eye on the five-to-ten-year horizon, which means we are fit for purpose, and on the front foot, when the market recovers.”
Cornwall Group, which comprises Mackenzie Glass, Cornwall Manufacturing and Cornwall Glass & Glazing, as well as Forward Glass, has a policy of ploughing profits back into the business, into people, machinery and buildings, he added: “We’ve got a very simple shareholder model, and we want to continue to grow a sustainable business, not one driven by short-term growth,”
Investment in 2023 included a new fire saw, cutting line, and bevelling and processing equipment at Mackenzies; a new heat soak oven at the company’s site in Plymouth, which can handle large units up to 4.2m x 2.7m; and a new £1.5m Bystronic Sealed Unit Line at its St Austell site, which replaced a similar line that was installed 20 years ago.
