Eco Buildings Group PLC (AIM:ECOB, FRA:9ZL0) has started building a second-generation manufacturing line at its production facility in Durres, Albania, the first major deployment of capital from its recent £2.35 million fundraising.
The AIM-listed housing manufacturer expects the new line to become operational in the fourth quarter, adding to an existing automated production line that has run since mid-2024.
Eco said the order had been placed and construction had commenced immediately, signalling the board's intent to move quickly on its growth plans.
The company makes wall panels from Glass Fibre Reinforced Gypsum (GFRG), a composite material it says allows faster, cheaper and lower-carbon construction than traditional methods.
Its existing line produced more than 42,000 square metres of GFRG wall panels in the first half of 2025 on a single-shift basis.
The new platform has been redesigned using operational data and engineering learnings from that first line, and built around automation integrated with artificial intelligence.
Capabilities under development include predictive maintenance, automated visual quality assurance, intelligent production scheduling and energy optimisation.
Eco said predictive maintenance alone could target up to 30% lower maintenance costs and reduced unplanned downtime.
The directors claim the GFRG technology, combined with advanced manufacturing, can deliver construction up to five times faster, build costs up to 50% lower and roughly 40% lower carbon emissions than conventional methods.
Each standardised line is expected to produce around 1,440 square metres a day, equivalent to about six homes, at capital expenditure of less than $5 million.
The company argues this creates a scalable model where capacity can be expanded by adding identical lines rather than increasing labour proportionally.
Eco increasingly positions itself as a housing technology company rather than a traditional construction business.
It pointed to a structural global housing shortage, citing industry estimates that around 96,000 new homes are needed worldwide every day.
In the UK, it put the housing gap at roughly 6.5 million homes compared with European peers.
Future facilities, whether in the UK, Chile, Africa or elsewhere, are intended to operate as standardised units sharing common engineering standards and manufacturing intelligence.
Eco said the model had already been proven on projects including Dubai Motor City and was supported by international certifications.
Executive vice chairman Dr Etrur Albani said the milestone marked the foundation of what he described as a scalable, intelligent housing manufacturing ecosystem designed to support the industrialisation of housing at global scale.
