News

The new store in Birmingham was not intended to be just a department store; it should be an architectural landmark. The building work is supported by the application of expanded metal as a composite. Traditionally, expanded metal mesh has been used as a support in the plastering and rendering of buildings. Our English subsidiary, the Expanded Metal Company, has developed these applications one stage further. The company has developed a new mesh which can be attached to the steel bearing structure of new buildings and which can be curved in both elevation and plan as required.

The result: the amount of concrete required to spray onto the supporting structure can be substantially reduced. This has the combined advantages of reducing material costs, shortening the working times (and therefore lowering labour costs) and reducing the weight of the finished surface to a minimum. Around 10,000m² of expanded metal were required for this project.