FIS member Etex has got the go ahead to almost double the size of its Bristol plasterboard factory to meet surging demand. Etex will invest £140m in expanding factory capacity to increase production of its Siniat brand by over 50% by 2023.

The new manufacturing facility will harvest rainwater, use solar PV, electric car charging points and eventually a fully electric forklift fleet. The extra space will also support post-consumer gypsum recycling.

Neil Shaw, Country Manager (UK & Ireland) at Etex said: “The extension of our Bristol facility will significantly increase our production capacity in the UK, at a time when our plasterboard solutions are in high demand which is currently outstripping industry supply availability.

“We’re extremely confident that the underlying upward trend in demand for our product will continue, so being able to produce and supply it in significantly larger quantities will be crucial, not only to the growth of our business, but also in supporting the wider construction industry’s growth challenges.”