Northamptonshire-based
Scott Bader UK, a specialist in composite, adhesive and polymer materials, is to invest £30 million to transform its flagship UK manufacturing site. The five-year programme will commence this year with £8 million earmarked for the first phase of the works. This planned investment will support the group’s UK customers by making the plant more flexible – enabling quicker lead times and the rapid scaling up of an increasing number of sustainable alternatives to the company’s current products as well as new performance products in areas such as 3-D printing.
Scott Bader’s CEO Kevin Matthews said: “The planned investment reaffirms our commitment to the UK composite supply chain and to all our colleagues, partners and associates that benefit from our long-standing presence at Wollaston. In addition, the investment will upgrade our capability to continue to develop and supply new sustainable performance materials designed to help our customers on their journey to ‘net zero’.”
This significant commitment to the UK market will ensure the future of Scott Bader’s key product brands including Crystic resins and gelcoats, Crestabond structural adhesives and Crestapol performance resins.
Recent R&D investments – both in the UK and globally – has bolstered Scott Bader’s exploration of more sustainable alternatives and innovations that lead to the ‘lightweighting’ of composite parts for markets such as electric vehicles, renewable energy and land transportation, as well as the development of bio-based ingredients for the personal care market.
Alongside allocating the capital to transform its UK site, the company has also created a €2 million laboratory facility in France, which will open in the first quarter of 2024. Outside of Europe, Scott Bader’s two-year build of a $16 million new manufacturing facility in Mocksville, USA, also becomes fully operational in 2024. These investments are designed to bring Scott Bader’s enhanced capabilities closer to its global customer base, helping with the longer-term goal of shortening supply chains and lowering the carbon footprint associated with transporting goods.