Surface World August 2019 Surface World August 2019 | Page 32

INDUSTRY NEWS (L-R in shot) Vertik-Al group managing director, Angus Mackie; Andy Street, the Mayor of the West Midlands and Vertik-Al group sales and marketing director, John Park Davies. Mayor visit marks investment at Vertik-Al Andy Street visited Shard End in Birmingham to see Vertik-Al’s powder coating facility, in his role as Mayor of the West Midlands. The Mayor was greeted by Vertik-Al group managing director, Angus Mackie, before taking a guided tour of the workshop, accompanied by Mr Mackie and Vertik-Al’s group sales and marketing director, John Park Davies, who talked through the powder coating process and the significance of the company’s latest investment – a Magic Compact horizontal powder coating plant. The investment in the Shard End facility, which includes another horizontal line due for delivery later this year, will increase capacity and prove advantageous for staff and customers across the UK. 30 Andy Street, the Mayor of the West Midlands, said: “Now more than ever we need to be investing in manufacturing across our region. It was a pleasure to see how Vertik-Al is making a difference, providing a technical and quality driven service for businesses across the UK. “With investment comes additional benefits for both the business and wider economy, and Vertik-al have demonstrated their commitment to the local area with further investment planned. I see a very bright future for the company.” Vertik-Al group managing director, Angus Mackie said: “We would like to thank The Mayor for taking the time to visit us at Vertik-Al and for taking an interest in our work and investment. He spoke to our team and asked lots of questions about what we do here and the industry as a whole. It’s clear that he’s aware of some of the challenges we face and is appreciative of all AUGUST 2019 the work and investment that’s being carried out. The visit stands as a special moment for all of us at Vertik-Al.” Vertik-Al began powder coating materials more than 50 years ago. It was the first company in the UK to apply powder to aluminium and is home to the first vertical powder coating line in the country. The company employs 180 people from the local area. The Birmingham-based business processes around 160,000 lineal metres of bar plus thousands of pressings, panels, cills, aluminium rainwater goods, tubes, posts and associated items each week. With the ability to offer thousands of colour and texture combinations Vertik-al really does have a bright and colourful future. Telephone: [phone] Email: [email protected] Visit: www.vertik-al.com read online: www.surfaceworld.com