MonolithUK – a new business in North Wales is set to create forty new jobs with the launch of an innovative external cladding product for the home insulation market.
The business has been set up by Stephen Waring, founder and Chief Executive of St Asaph based GreenThumb, which he built up from scratch to become the UK’s largest lawn care company.
He has spent the last three years investing more than half a million pounds developing Brick Plus, which look and feel like real bricks but is not a structural product. It is ideally suited to conceal and cover external wall insulation while preserving the appearance of older brick properties.
It offers an alternative to rendering brick houses after external insulation has been applied which not only changes the character and appearance of the building but also may be subject to planning permission.
Made from a specialized natural lime product, Brick Plus are lighter than bricks, only 20mm deep and have a thin expanded polystyrene backing. They can be provided as individual bricks, on a mesh sheet and with or without thermal insulation attached.
Mr Waring said the Brick Plus application is quicker, safer, less costly, and lighter than alternative systems on the market.
There has been considerable interest in Brick Plus following its launch at a number of specialist trade exhibitions. MonolithUK, which has already created ten research and development jobs, has now moved into a 13,000 sq ft hi-tech Welsh Government unit on St Asaph Business Park to continue R&D operations and to manufacture Brick Plus.
Business Minister Edwina Hart said the news, which coincides with Global Entrepreneurship Week, illustrated the importance of entrepreneurs to the Welsh economy.
“We need to increase the number of small firms being created in Wales and build a more enterprising private sector and encourage entrepreneurs to develop new products and services which in turn create new jobs.
“Ensuring we have the environment and infrastructure to support enterprise is critical and I am delighted the Welsh Government was able to support MonolithUK’s accommodation requirements.”
Stephen Waring said the potential market for Brick Plus was significant as hundreds of thousands of older properties in the UK do not have cavity walls and cannot benefit from cavity wall insulation. The easiest and most cost effective alternative is, he said, to insulate the exterior walls.
“Brick Plus is the only system of its type available that can match all brick types and colours – including those that have been out of production for decades. Brick Plus provides a solution to the dilemma of having to finish externally insulated brick buildings with a render coat.”
He believes Brick Plus will be an ideal product for use under the Green Deal*, a UK Government initiative due to come into effect next autumn and geared to make homes cheaper to run and warmer.
Mr. Waring said the Green Deal demand for solid wall external insulation is the ideal market for Brick Plus and believes there is franchising potential as there will be a need for a national network of installers for the product.
“GreenThumb is already one of the premier franchising companies in the UK with more than 200 franchise operations and we would use this experience and expertise to franchise the Brick Plus system from 2013,” he said.
“This in turn will provide employment opportunities that could provide hundreds of new jobs in Wales alone, while I anticipate we will create up to forty new direct jobs.”