„An ace up our sleeve“

BPD Wienerberger: New manufacturing opportunities for system-based roofing solutions

BPD Wienerberger, the UK’s acknowledged market leader in the field of roof ventilation, construction membranes and other specialist construction products possesses a new trump card in the form of a recently acquired GRM-NC stamping and forming machine. The system dramatically reduces setup times and opens up a range of entirely new manufacturing opportunities for the company, which is being expanded to act as a roofing center of excellence for innovative, system-based roofing solutions within the Wienerberger Group.

The product portfolio of the UK-based Building Product Design Ltd (BPD) features roof underlay membranes, vapor barriers for roofs and walls, building ventilation systems as well as a wide range of other building products. The company, which was founded in the 1980s, is the leader in its field in the UK and has two production sites, namely in Merthyr Tydfil, South Wales, and Nottingham, England. An important new chapter in the company’s history got underway in 2019 when it was taken over by the Austrian Wienerberger Group, which is the world’s leading manufacturer of roof tiles and market leader in the field of clay roof tiles, paving stones and piping systems. “In this way, the Group is further extending its current portfolio of roofing products and continuing to grow successfully. “BPD is being extended to act as a roofing center of excellence within the Wienerberger Group. Among other things, this means that we will grow our accessories portfolio and diversify to service a wider market than in the past. To do this, we are naturally also investing in our machine pool,” explains Ben Gerry, Managing Director at BPD. “Our aim in this new role is to manufacture in-house a lot of the parts we previously had to purchase and consequently better utilize our internal capabilities,” explains Daniel King, BPD Plant Manager in Nottingham.

New partnership

One of the products that perfectly illustrates BPD's transition into a Wienerberger Group competence center takes the form of the clips used to hold flat roof tiles in place. It was decided to replace the two mechanical machines previously used to manufacture these with a new, high-performance system in order to ensure an optimum environment for the planned product extension. “Naturally, we looked at a large number of potential suppliers before making our decision. However, we finally opted for Bihler and a servo-controlled GRM-NC stamping and forming machine,” explains King. “The extremely professional approach to plant construction that characterizes Bihler in Füssen impressed us from the very outset and we were also able to witness parts production live at a GRM-NC. It was a fascinating experience,” recalls King. “However, the comprehensive support that Bihler offers was an equally important factor in our decision. All of this means that Bihler is simply the right partner for us.”

Outsourced toolmaking

BPD Wienerberger is every bit as satisfied with Complete Tooling Systems Ltd. (CTS). This British tool specialist works together closely with Bihler to develop and manufacture the new tools for the GRM-NC, in some cases using the LEANTOOL system. “At the start, there were certain reservations about not using original Bihler tools but it didn’t take very long for our collaboration to kick off.” The GRM-NC arrived at BPD Wienerberger in early 2024 and by July, the radial tool for the roof tile holders was already being manufactured in two variants. These are now being produced on the GRM-NC at a significantly quicker rate. “We change the tool once a week. We have found that it is possible to reduce the setup times from approximately a day to an average of two hours,” says King.

A powerful statement

BPD Wienerberger soon expects to exploit the full potential of the GRM-NC: “In the future, we will be able to produce far more, and increasingly complex, parts with this solution than in the past. In addition, the solution will allow the company to move closer to its goal of in-house production. All of this means that BPD Wienerberger has a real ace up its sleeve with the GRM-NC,” says King happily. “The new system is also a statement of how we will develop our growth strategy,” adds Gerry. “It allows us to demonstrate our strengths and manufacturing skills here in our local market and will enable us to ensure even greater market success in the long term.”