A building company is about to create 35 new jobs as it revealed a multi-million pound investment into a new factory in Sittingbourne.

Wienerberger, which provides wall, roof, and landscaping products, has announced plans to invest £30 million in a new concrete roof tile manufacturing facility at its Smeed Dean site.

The new facility will be located next to Smeed Dean’s existing brick factory on Castle Road and will allow Wienerberger to significantly increase production capacity by enabling it to develop more tile formats to meet increased demand.

Work on the site is due to begin in early 2023, with the facility expected to be fully operational by the end of 2024. Once fully operational, it will result in the creation of around 35 new production operatives and engineers. The company currently employs 1200 people in the UK.

Simon Nevitt, operations director at Wienerberger UK & Ireland, said: "This is a significant step towards our ambition to transition to a net-zero emission, nature-positive business.

"For instance, the new format concrete tile to be manufactured at the new Smeed Dean site contains less material per square metre of roof installed than a traditional roof tile, so will contribute towards reducing our CO2 emissions.

"And, by expanding our manufacturing footprint, we will be better placed to serve our customers in the South East, reducing the road miles of our products and, hence, our total product carbon footprint.

"Smeed Dean is one of our oldest UK sites, with brick manufacture here dating back to 1875. We’re incredibly proud to be announcing this investment to ensure we continue to innovate and ensure that Smeed Dean remains an integral part of our UK operation."