By Martin Clark
Accsys Technologies makes eco-friendly, high performance, sustainable wood building products, selling into an increasingly receptive market both in the UK and abroad.The London AIM-listed group reported strong revenue growth in its interim results for the six months ended 30 September 2021, as it continues to deliver on a broad expansion strategy.
Its share price has been generally elevated throughout 2021 and considerably above and beyond previous years, reflecting positive sentiment among the investment community. Announcing the recent interims on 23 November 2021, the company noted that group revenue and its flagship Accoya sales volumes were up 31per cent and 12 per cent respectively versus the prior year comparative period, which was impacted by the Covid-19 crisis. The company also maintained good profitability with underlying gross profit up by 20 per cent.
This has all been achieved as Accsys invests in its strategic growth projects, which will greatly expand production capacity by as much as five times by 2025.All of these initiatives are said to be progressing well, with some high impact effects likely to be seen during the coming year.They include the world-first Tricoya plant in Hull, in England’s north east, which is on track to commence operations by July 2022, after Accsys took over responsibility for the project’s delivery.
Accsys– changing wood to change the world
Earlier in November, the company confirmed that funding had been agreed to deliver the plant’s completion, which has anticipated total capital costs of between €90m and €96m.In the Netherlands, the Accoya plant in Arnhem is seeing the addition of a fourth reactor that will boost capacity by 33 per cent to 80,000m3, a project that is set for completion around the end of the first quarter in 2022.Further project work is also progressing on its Accoya USA joint venture with Eastman, with a final investment decision expected in the coming months upon completion of a financing workstream.
It is an exciting time for all at Accsys Technologies.Robert Harris, CEO, said the expansion at Arnhem and the new Hull plant will together see the company double its present operating production capacity of 60,000m3 to 120,000m3 by July 2022. He also said there is continuing high demand for Accoya and Tricoya products as customers focus on higher performance materials as well as on sustainability.
“It is this demand, which continues to exceed supply, that has enabled us to substantially offset the wider market pressures from raw materials costs and supply chain disruption through price increases.”Looking ahead, Harris said that he remains confident in delivering on market expectations, now and going forward. “Longer term, we believe there will be significant further demand for Accsys’ higher performance, lower maintenance and more sustainable products as the world focuses on decarbonisation.”
It’s a good place to be as the world gets to grips with climate change challenges and all the myriad implications that it throws up with it.Indeed, demand outstripping supply had been one of the key challenges facing Accsys, a situation that is now being resolved with the surge in extra capacity set to propel the group on to the next stage..Accsys transforms fast-growing, certified sustainable wood into building materials with an up to 50-year warranty, locking carbon stored in the wood into useful products for decades, with performance characteristics that match or better those of non-renewable, resource-depleting and polluting alternatives.
Its Tricoya acetylated wood elements are produced for use in the fabrication of panel products such as medium density fibreboard (MDF).Accoya solid wood is sustainable, durable, and stable with exceptional performance, finish and sustainability.The company released a new Accoya projects book recently showing the material in a variety of project settings, for windows, doors, cladding and decking all over the world, from a ‘floating’ bridge in the Dutch city of Bergen op Zoom to a chain of health food cafes in Jersey.
