New Automated Offsite Construction Factory Will Help Deliver 4,000 Homes a Year

Offsite manufacturing specialist, British Offsite, is opening a new £45 million automated construction factory in the Horizon Business Park, Braintree. Using robotic automated manufacturing processes, the factory will create light gauge steel panel systems and other components. The company will work in collaboration with Swedish robotic engineering company, Randek AB, to deliver components for the internal fit-out of houses, high-rise and multi-rise developments.

Measuring 137,000 square feet, the new factory will use state-of-the-art robotic automated manufacturing systems to produce light gauge steel panel systems. It will help to deliver 4,000 new homes a year as part of a hybrid MMC approach. Components produced at the site will be supplied to Weston Homes, which is British Offsite’s parent group, as well as being made available on the general market to house builders locally and regionally.

Known as the ‘Horizon’ factory, the site will produce the company’s UniSystem range. The UniSystem range is a hybrid MMC technology which manufactures light gauge panels, floors, walls and roofs, including doors, windows, vents, insulation, external cladding and fire-stopping. Components are custom manufactured to meet developers’ exact needs.

Using the latest automated technologies, the factory will be able to produce a fully dressed UniSystem panel in just 15 minutes! Panels for an entire apartment can be produced in just one hour, highlighting the scope for offsite construction methods to substantially reduce build times.

The BOS Fitout internal modules produced by the factory are ideal for conversion projects as they can be easily integrated into buildings. This is great for redevelopment projects where new homes or offices can be created easily from the reuse of redundant buildings. The Hybrid MMC approach used by the factory has the potential to reduce construction project turnaround times by up to 20%, significantly speeding up the process of building new homes so demand can be met more rapidly.

The factory houses eight high-tech robots designed by Randek Robotics. The robots represent approximately £5.3 million of capital expenditure and will operate in three teams. Each is named after a UK city, including Manchester, Cambridge, London, Liverpool, Cardiff, York, Belfast and Edinburgh.

In addition to components produced for housing, the factory has the potential to supply components for other sectors and projects such as school buildings, student accommodation and healthcare facilities. Once it is fully operational, it will run on a two-shift system over five days per week and create 180 new jobs in the local area. In addition to the triple-height production line space, the site includes 20,000 square feet of space incorporating offices, welfare facilities, marketing, an R&D suite, a canteen and a health screening clinic. The building itself has a Trimco panel and glass façade, solar panels on the roof and energy monitoring systems to maximise energy efficiency.

The MMC components produced by the factory are sustainably designed, incorporating lightweight, responsibly sourced steel frames which contain 38% recycled steel. The UniSystem uses precision manufacturing to allow for superior air tightness, which increases insulation and, therefore, helps to reduce household energy consumption. Swift production methods will be used, which will reduce site deliveries and allows for fewer trades on-site. This, in turn, will ensure minimal road miles and energy consumption relating to deliveries.

The Horizon factory is British Offsite’s second offsite construction factory. The company opened its ‘Skyline’ factory back in 2019, where the UniSystem was originally manufactured. The Skyline unit has the capacity to contribute to the delivery of 1,000 homes per year. With the addition of the new unit, British Offsite can quadruple its overall production capacity. 

Chairman of British Offsite and Weston Group, Bob Weston, has stated that: “Working with Randek AB, the launch of the ‘Horizon’ factory has created one of the most automated light gauge steel panel assembly lines in Europe and the largest single production line in the UK. Offsite construction is the future of the housebuilding industry, and homes manufactured at ‘Horizon’ can be tailored to a development’s unique design vision.”

Horizon’s new robotic production line brings significant new capabilities to the UK construction industry. It allows for the consolidation of the work of as many as five different trades into one panel. It demonstrated the scope for offsite methods to streamline traditional construction in the residential sector and beyond.