Data centres and EVs need thin-gauge aluminium

Bridgnorth Aluminium is investing £600,000 to meet rising demand for thinner-gauge aluminium in underfloor heating and cooling systems needed by the automotive sector and data centres.

The Shropshire firm with 330 staff is installing a newly refurbished Schmutz line at its Stourbridge Road site. 

The upgraded line will handle in-house slitting and winding of thin-gauge reels for customers in Wales, the EU and the US, with commissioning due by March, the firm said.

The project follows the return to 24/7 operations in key areas and recent molten-metal filtration upgrades to cut casting impurities.

The investments reinforce Bridgnorth Aluminium’s status as a global leader in flat-rolled aluminium coils for lithography, packaging, heating/cooling, electrification and data applications. A

s the UK’s sole remaining producer of such coils, it continues to press the government on aluminium’s importance to net-zero goals.

‘Positive start to 2026’

Commercial director Adrian Musgrave said: “It has been a really positive start to 2026, with export orders up, new domestic clients secured and some major advancements in capabilities well on the way to being completed.

“This is all being achieved against a backdrop of global uncertainty and is real testimony to the long-term strategy the management team has put in place and the way our 330-strong workforce responded to a difficult time for our business in 2023.

“Every penny we spend futureproofs our factory in Shropshire and reinforces our commitment to remaining the UK’s last remaining producer of flat rolled aluminium coils.”