Warringtonfire invests £4 million on duo of furnaces at Birchwood Park

The additional furnaces take the total investment at Warringtonfire’s state-of-the-art facility to over £26 million. This follows on from an initial outlay of £22 million to construct what is one of Europe’s largest fire resistance testing laboratories, which was launched earlier this year.

The new furnaces mark Warringtonfire’s ongoing commitment to supporting the construction industry’s safety needs. The expanded facility will bring the total number of operational furnaces at Birchwood Park to seven, allowing safety-critical products to be brought to market on a faster basis.

Meanwhile, the extra capacity supports manufacturers transitioning from the BS 476 suite of standards to the EN 13501 standards.

Greater capacity

Natasha Bambridge, divisional director at Element Materials Technology Group, said: “We’re proud to be investing in the future of fire resistance testing here at Warringtonfire. The new furnaces will enhance our ability to deliver fast and accurate test results that help in keeping people and buildings safe. With greater capacity, we can assist customers to bring essential products to market that much faster, thereby allowing the industry to comply with ever-changing regulations at the necessary speed.”

In order to support the new operations, circa 25 new staff members are being recruited before the end of 2025 and will join Warringtonfire’s existing 200-strong team of fire safety experts.

Additions to the team will include technical officers, technical assistants, CAD specialists and business support staff. Each new hire will undergo 12 months of training, highlighting the business’ long-term investment in technical expertise.

“This investment in new equipment represents our commitment to reducing ‘bottlenecks’ across the industry and supporting manufacturers as regulations evolve,” explained Bambridge. “By expanding our capabilities, we’re helping clients to achieve system compliance faster and more efficiently.”

Installation timeline

The installation of the furnaces is set to begin in Q3 2025, with commercial testing scheduled to commence in Q4 2026.

As part of the expansion, Warringtonfire is extending the scope of testing that it provides, enabling the organisation to support testing programmes that currently require UK-based clients to ship products internationally.

*Further information is available online at  https://www.warringtonfire.com/about-warringtonfire/warrington-site-relocation-and-expansion