HS2 to create big boost for the aluminium sector
Posted on 07/03/2017
Prime Minister Theresa May recently confirmed High Speed 2 (HS2), a high-speed railway in the UK linking London, Birmingham, the East Midlands, Leeds, Sheffield and Manchester, will go ahead.
HS2 would be the second high-speed rail link in Britain after High Speed 1, which connects London to the Channel Tunnel, and is due for completion in 2033.
A report by KPMG says the new rail project could boost the UK economy by £15bn a year and will create 22,000 construction jobs in the next five years.
Mike Davis, Managing Director of specialist aluminium fabricator CDW Systems, says new commercial and residential projects on, and around the rail line, could provide a big boost to the aluminium sector.
He comments: “HS2 is set to provide a big boost for the aluminium sector as specifiers on projects around the rail-line look to aluminium as the material of choice. We’ve already received feedback from customers who are being asked for quotes on commercial and residential projects, linked to the development.”
Whilst Mike praises the government’s investment in HS2, he questions why it doesn’t invest in other big infrastructure projects, while interest rates are low.
He comments: “Base interest rates are at an all-time low of 0.25% and have been around this mark for the past five years, meaning that this period would be the perfect time for government to borrow money for more big infrastructure projects. Cuts have been made to investments in schools and hospitals but not why invest in these sectors and create jobs and supply side benefits?”
CDW Systems has been operating for twenty-five years as an aluminium specialist, manufacturing and supplying a wide range of windows, doors, shop fronts and curtain walling, using some of the leading aluminium profile systems on the market.
At the tail end of 2016, the firm added the Reynaers lift and slide patio doors sets to its portfolio of products.
