"Skyrocket" lands at Burton roofing site

There is a new landmark on Nicolson Way in Burton on Trent as a new High Silo is being installed at roofing manufacturers Russell Roof Tiles as part of its £18.5m investment project.

Known by the team as a “skyrocket” is double capacity of the existing silo and took extensive groundwork due to its weight.

It will have double the capacity of the old silo and help increase efficiency and support the firm’s Net Zero ambitions.

Russell Roof Tiles, employs a team of one-hundred and sixty across two sites in Burton and one in Lochmaben (Scotland) and is the leading independent manufacturer of concrete roof tiles. Last year it announced a major £18.5m investment programme, which should be complete by later in 2024.

Part of the project includes the installation of this new state of the art Skako Concrete ‘High Silo’ batching plant, to help increase concrete roof tile production.

Not only is the new batching plant being installed whilst the tile plant continues to manufacture but it will have increased efficiencies as well as sustainable benefits such as a water reclamation and refiltering system, that allows for recycling of all wash water, including using wash water from the factory. This will reduce the firm’s use of fresh water, and significantly reduce waste.

Russell Roof Tiles has been actively seeking ways to reduce its environmental impact, including investing in more energy-efficient equipment, optimising its production processes, and sourcing more sustainable materials as part of its Net Zero pledge, to ensure the company becomes carbon neutral by 2040, ten years ahead of the Government’s timeline.

The new equipment replaces an old and inefficient 1990’s batching plant and concrete mixer and was designed to meet increased production demand as well as allow for further capacity increases in the future. The much larger volume system will be able to handle the sand, cement, and pigment needed to feed a new mixing plant and in-turn roof tile production line.

Bruce Laidlaw, Operations Director at Russell Roof Tiles said: “It is important that we continue to focus on efficiencies and sustainability across this major project, looking at market leading environmental options throughout the new facility. For example, this type of mixer is up to 20 per cent more energy efficient than alternatives available.

He added “Other energy efficiencies include using gravity to feed sand into the mixer below. Over time this saves a huge amount of energy moving sand. The Skako Concrete solution of holding such amount of sand above the mixer has allowed for the footprint to be compressed and thus install the full equipment within a much smaller area.”

Gareth Hulcup, SKAKO Concrete Sales Manager for the UK and Irish markets said: “The installation of the new batching plant has been the culmination of many months of meticulous planning by all stakeholders to ensure seamless integration of the new plant on site.

“We would like to thank Russell Roof Tiles for the opportunity to provide our solutions for the redevelopment of the site at Burton and contribute to their Net Zero pledge”.

Russell Roof Tiles is a leading independent pitched roof tile manufacturer supplying products for the top housebuilders and high-profile social housing and commercial projects. The company produces thousands of tiles every week that are used on roofs across the UK, for all of the UK’s premier housebuilders, social housing projects, architects and developers.