Hampshire-based greenhouse manufacturer Alitex (www.alitex.co.uk) has acquired Marston & Langinger, which is well-known for its timber conservatories.

The latter’s brand of Victorian-inspired ‘garden rooms’ will be relaunched, but Alitex will use its signature aluminium instead of timber for their construction.

To cope with the extra work, it has invested heavily in both machinery and property. Last autumn, the company purchased its first Emmegi Satellite five-axis CNC machining centre; having being impressed with this machine’s multi-handling capabilities and its ability to eliminate human error, the company has bought a second one.

Alitex estimates that the new machine will reduce machining times by up to 30% and that a particular process which used to take up to 2hr can now be completed in 12min. As a result, the company has predicted a two-year payback on its investment.

Jason Cottrell, head of manufacturing at Alitex, says: “Our continuing investment in machinery has increased our productivity considerably, helping us to meet demand and secure the company’s evolution.

“The Satellite XT has been fundamental to our manufacturing success over the last year, so the investment in an additional machine will surely prove invaluable too, allowing us to deliver further excellence following our acquisition of Marston & Langinger.”

Alitex has 64 years’ experience of designing and manufacturing bespoke aluminium greenhouses. It now has 10 Emmegi (www.emmegi.com) machines in its Torberry Farm factory.