Eco Buildings Group (AIM:ECOB) said its first new production line, ordered in June, is now in manufacture and progressing on schedule and within budget.
The AIM-listed company makes glass fibre reinforced gypsum (GFRG) wall panels for industrialised housing, using localised manufacturing and rapid on-site assembly at its facility in Durrës, Albania.
The new line is designed to produce precision-engineered panels up to 12 metres long and 3.5 metres high, with the existing process capable of manufacturing roughly 42 square metres of wall in a 30-minute cycle.
It will add an AI-enabled monitoring and control layer to Eco's existing automated operating system, intended to flag equipment faults and inefficiencies before they halt production, improving reliability and panel consistency; the company said actual performance will be assessed once the line is commissioned.
EPC contractors are working to agreed designs and budget under the supervision of Eco's Albania-based technical team, drawing on engineering developed at the existing plant.
Subject to installation and commissioning, the line is targeted for operational readiness by the end of 2026, with capacity designed to support up to 2.5 shifts a day, six days a week at peak utilisation.
"This is more than an equipment investment: it is another important step towards building a scalable industrial manufacturing business," said Etrur Albani, Eco Buildings' Executive Vice Chairman.
The build-out comes as Eco Buildings pursues parallel expansion on several fronts: a multi-building residential contract for Balfin Group at Rolling Hills in Tirane, a UK pilot with Noventum targeting two demonstration homes, and a binding framework with the Government of The Gambia covering a minimum 10,000-home programme.
Albani said the company's objective is "to manufacture high-quality building systems at speed, with precision and consistent cost control" as it looks to convert its growing pipeline into delivery.