AG increases production to meet demand

Leading paving and building manufacturer AG has ramped up its production capacity by 50% following increased demand for facing brick and paving products from throughout the UK and Ireland.

The family-run business, based in Fivemiletown, has been at the leading edge of hard landscaping and building solutions for more than 60 years, providing world class products and services to architects, specifiers, contractors and homeowners across the UK and Ireland.

The past 12 months has seen unprecedent challenges hit the construction industry with firms across the sector facing supply chain interruptions, increased lead times and significant skills shortages.

CEO, Stephen Acheson said: Covid-19’s impact on our business was instant, but innovation and resourcefulness - two key components of our corporate DNA - have enabled us to not only survive but thrive.

“By continuing to invest in research and development and harnessing technology we have been able to embrace these new challenges by adopting new processes and capabilities throughout the business.”

The third-generation family business has also created a number of new jobs across its manufacturing plants in response to the heightened demand across the domestic and commercial sectors.

Mr Acheson continued: “AG employs more than 230 people across eight locations meaning we were well placed to react quickly when the pandemic caused a nationwide shortage of building products, subsequently increasing lead times to unprecedented levels. In response, we introduced additional shift patterns into our plants as well as adding even more talent to our fantastic team, enabling us to increase stocks of Country Cobble, Facing Brick and paving products.

“The past year has seen us achieve some record-breaking sales in both the domestic and commercial sectors which is testament to the resilience and outstanding work of our team”.

Acheson said that the company expects demand for building products to continue to grow in the coming months:

“We predict this exceptional demand will continue to grow over the next 12 months, placing considerable pressure on building merchants.

“In response, we have introduced new processes enabling us to significantly increase production input and massively reducing our lead times. We have greater stock levels of some of our most popular products which can be easily called off at short notice and lead times on some made to order items is as little as four weeks, which will be satisfying news to our customers.”

AG - which has built a solid reputation for innovation - launched its ground-breaking Enduur advanced concrete technology earlier this year, a factory-installed enhancement process that improves the environmental performance of its products.

It also launched its new revolutionary Fiamma range – a reconstituted flagstone resembling flamed granite – that the firm regards as its most advanced product ever.

Mr Acheson added: “2021 has been a big year for us and as we look towards the new year, we remain committed to delivering the best products to our customers”.

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