Support from the West Midlands Centre for Constructing Excellence (WMCCE) has seen Shrewsbury-based business, Ecostruct develop a long term expansion strategy, which includes a key focus on innovation in sustainable construction methods. In particular, the company has developed a number of new products in offsite building and the ‘Retrofit for the Future’ social housing market. 

The environmental construction contractor and offsite manufacturer, established in 2007, received funding from WMCCE to invest in business development support to help in transforming its research and development projects into viable commercial opportunities.

Julian Kirkham, Ecostruct’s director, explains:

“We were looking to expand and needed help in developing a strategy that would bring together the different strands of our business and ensure that we could fund ongoing research and development in key product areas and markets.

“As a business, we are committed to promoting sustainable construction techniques and it is important for our long term growth that we continue to innovate and develop in this area to stay at the cutting edge.

“The funding from WMCCE enabled us to focus at a strategic level by working with advisor, Neil Young. Thanks to their support, we have tailored our services to meet the needs of each of our target sectors and have strengthened our knowledge in business development and marketing.”

Since then, Ecostruct has showcased its innovative building solutions at Ecobuild at Earls Court in London and The Greener Homes and Buildings Show in Wales.

The company has also received government funding to test low carbon building technology under the “Retrofit for the Future” social housing programme and is currently carrying out a retrofit of two local authority homes in mid Wales.

The project includes significant improvements to the thermal performance of the external fabric, a high performance ‘pod’ roof system with integrated renewables, as well as improving air-tightness to industry-leading standards. Together, these measures improve the energy efficiency of the house considerably, delivering a carbon reduction of more than 85%.

Phil Wilson, Executive Director at WMCCE, said:

“Ecostruct is a fantastic example of an innovative and forward-thinking business, with a real grasp of what is needed to drive the construction sector forward by providing solutions to many of the environmental challenges that lie ahead. It is great to see that WMCCE’s support has already resulted in tangible benefits for the business and we look forward to charting their progress in the future.”