Viohalco celebrates 25 years of Bridgnorth Aluminium ownership

One of Bridgnorth's largest employers has completed its latest equipment installation to take total investment in its factory to £180 million.

Bridgnorth Aluminium, which is said to be the UK's last remaining aluminium rolling mill, revealed a new slitting line at a special event to mark 25 years of ownership by Greek industrial group Viohalco.

More than 500 members of staff, local dignitaries and key stakeholders attended the event at its plant in Stourbridge Road.

Originally formed in Wolverhampton as Star Aluminium 90 years ago, the company has bounced back from a difficult trading period to return to 24/7 production, creating 35 new jobs in the first six months of this year.

It has traditionally served customers in printing, packaging and construction, with recent diversification efforts seeing it now provide aluminium coils for use in energy and cleaner mobility.

It recently signed a five-year deal to supply specialist material to Lotte Aluminium USA for use in battery development.

Bridgnorth Aluminium board member Giorgos Drakos said: "We are firmly committed to production in the UK and respect the special role Bridgnorth Aluminium plays in local life, providing employment for several generations of family.

"With this in mind, we wanted to mark 25 years of ownership by celebrating our tremendous workforce and the recent challenges we have overcome with Covid, tariffs and rising energy prices.

"The turnaround in fortunes after a very difficult 2023/24 has been phenomenal and we now have a platform to win work both at home and overseas. Consistent investment has created an advanced rolling mill and a unique national asset.

"The event was the opportunity to say thank you to the heartbeat of the business and to start writing a new chapter in the next 25 years of our history."

As part of its celebrations, the company has donated £25,000 to charities and community groups including a £15,000 boost to the Shropshire Community Foundation to reduce loneliness in rural areas. This cause was chosen after it came out on top of a major survey of the workforce carried out earlier this year.

It has also agreed to renew its commitment to the community garden created on the former Hazeldine Foundry in the town, a site where renowned 18th-century engineer Richard Trevithick developed his first fee-paying steam locomotive.

Bridgnorth Aluminium had originally funded the project to mark the deaths of Prince Philip and Queen Elizabeth II and to celebrate close ties between the Greek owners and the royal family.

Head of sales Adrian Musgrave added: "The community garden is such a fantastic place for local people to relax, unwind or socialise and we have agreed to invest £6,000 every year into its annual maintenance.

"We are proud to be a Bridgnorth business and recognise that our factory has touched the lives of thousands of people in the town and will continue to do so as we expand. The garden is one of our ways of saying thank you."