Design Guild Mark Alusid raises 1.3m funding

Alusid, the creators of Design Guild Mark holder and 2018 Jonathan Hindle Prize winner SilicaStone, has raised £1.3m of funding to support the design, planning and location of a new factory to transform its production.

Alusid uses a patented process to manufacture sustainable, high-quality building materials by recycling industrial waste ceramics and glass, which would otherwise go to landfill.

The products are sold under their brand name Silicastone. The company currently makes tabletops and tiles through a batch process in Preston, which is distributed through Panaz.

The money raised will go towards a new factory with a more sophisticated production process, using a conveyor belt system, known as a roller hearth tunnel kiln. It is expected the process will make the factory more efficient.

Alusid co-founder and chief operating officer Dr Alasdair Bremner said: “The building industry is increasingly looking for innovative sustainable products such as SilicaStone. This successful fund-raising will enable Alusid to move to the next stage in development where we can really capitalise on the economies of scale coupled with lower energy and material costs.”

The fundraising has been supported by new and existing investors, including Frontier IP.