BAL installs £600,000 refurbished Schmutz line

New opportunities in underfloor heating and cooling applications for the automotive sector and data centres has kickstarted the latest capital equipment investment from Bridgnorth Aluminium (BAL). The company, which is one of the town’s largest employers, is installing a refurbished £600,000 Schmutz line at its Stourbridge Road facility, providing an in-house capability for finishing thinner gauge materials.

Installed and upgraded by experienced engineers, the equipment will provide slitting and winding for thin gauge aluminium reels destined for customers in Wales, the European Union (EU) and the USA. Commissioning should be completed by March and comes just a few months after the business returned to 24/7 operations in key process areas and builds on new molten metal filtration equipment that reduces impurities in the casting process. The recent investments position BAL as a world leader in flat-rolled aluminium coils for lithography, packaging, cooling and heating applications, electrification and data applications.

Adrian Musgrave, commercial director at BAL, said: “It has been a really positive start to 2026, with export orders up, new domestic clients secured, and some major advancements in capabilities well on the way to being completed. This is all being achieved against a backdrop of global uncertainty and is real testimony to the long-term strategy the management team has put in place and the way our 330-strong workforce responded to a difficult time for our business in 2023.”

UK’s last remaining producer
He continued: “Every penny we spend future-proofs our factory in Shropshire and reinforces our commitment to remaining the UK’s last remaining producer of flat rolled aluminium coils. The Schmutz line has also sparked a mini recruitment drive, with a 10% increase in our finishing team that work flexibility across several of our lines.”

People are vital to the future expansion of Bridgnorth Aluminium, with the company launching a focus group initiative to boost employee engagement and retention. Made up of different ages, roles and responsibilities, the group meet regularly to feedback on issues, improvement suggestions, sustainability, and how the firm supports local organisations.

This has already proved crucial in BAL signing up to the Shropshire Investors in Community scheme run by Shropshire Community Foundation, which will give it access to charities and grassroots organisations across the county.

Mr Musgrave added: “We are immensely proud of our heritage, having been a part of the local landscape since the 1950s. Generations of local people have been part of our past story, and we want to explore ways where the next generation can write their own chapter in our success, ensuring the local economy benefits at the same time.”

Bridgnorth Aluminium continues to lobby Government and key stakeholders on the importance of aluminium as one of the UK’s critical minerals and an essential ingredient in the nationwide move to ‘net zero’.