Lime Green, based in Much Wenlock, is the leading UK supplier of lime-based products (and woodfibre insulation) for conservation, eco and new builds. We had a chat with Simon Ayres, Director.

• What did you do before? How did the business start?

In the 1990s I was living in Herefordshire just south of Ludlow, and working as a builder. We were doing heritage properties so lime had to be used but we couldn’t get hold of it locally. We had to turn up at Attingham Park at 11am every Thursday with an empty dustbin! The National Trust were doing some restoration works there. So you could only get lime on a limited basis.

I was interested so I went on a course about historic buildings, and read a few books.

As always I was over enthusiastic, I thought – we can do this ourselves. It was my idea to get the quicklime and produce lime putty from it. We over ordered for the project we were working on so the lime leftover I stored in my porch at home, I would use it for local jobs and somehow people found out I could supply it. That was how the business started, it was 1997.

• How did the business grow?

I kept on with the building work for a while, the business grew very slowly, to begin with it was quite niche. Gradually we developed a name as a supplier among builders and architects who knew they needed lime products. Dimbylow Crump was a really good customer, they used to do big heritage projects. Around the same time, I teamed up with Bryn Gilby who had been making and selling lime for longer, Bryn kindly passed on a huge amount of his experience of working with lime.

Most of our growth has been through reinvesting profits in the business. Growth has been organic, it’s taken us a long time to get where we are now, step by step. Originally we used to mix stuff by hand, then we bought a second hand mortar mill, then we made the jump to two mixers and a forklift, we employed one person to work on the lime, while we were still doing building work, that felt like quite a big deal at the time.

• So when was the move to Much Wenlock?

In 2002 we agreed to rent the land from Aggregate Industries. It was a limestone quarry until 15 years ago. Sadly we weren’t able to use the limestone quarried there, because it was crushed for road use rather than turned into quicklime.

We got planning permission for the big factory mixer we use now because there was a history of lime production on Wenlock Edge that goes back centuries. As I understand it Much Wenlock means ‘the great white place’.

The big mixer was designed in 2016 by a great German company, they’re so good at that sort of thing. It took about 3 years to plan and get planning permission. The complicated bits came from Germany, and the machinery. But the steel was a local company, and it was all assembled by people from Walsall and Cannock.

Opening the new factory in 2018 was a big jump for us, the previous year we only had about 12 employees.

• How many employees do you have now? 

23 employees now – mostly local. Several live in Much Wenlock itself.

• What about the future? Are the children going to take the reins?

We have 3 kids, they don’t seem that interested, who knows what they’re going to do. It is a family firm, my Mum is Company Secretary still, she was more involved in the early days. And James my brother works with me, we’re both directors. But I’m the boss!

• What products are growing in popularity and why?

We’ve always put a lot of effort into educating people about lime, and now about our insulation products. We give lots of phone advice. As we grew we produced datasheets, and we would do training courses. Gradually we realised – instead of teaching people how to mix the stuff – we could make it as a finished product by mixing it ourselves. So we developed by making easier-to-use products.

In ‘designer’ type homes the surface finish of plaster is very much in vogue. It leaves a textured finish which is much more interesting than normal pink skim. It can be painted but doesn’t need to be. And we’re selling more and more woodfibre for solid wall insulation – people are realising it works well in a heritage setting. It’s well informed householders who are driving that.

Grand Designs has had an effect. Lots of building products are imported from Europe, but people want a UK product – so we create them. People wanted lime plaster walls, so we started making them. Around 2006 inspired by my own needs we developed a thermally insulating plaster using lightweight “manmade pumice” made from recycled glass from Germany. This goes in our easy to use insulated plaster. Incrementally this led to the insulation systems for walls.

Climate change concerns are becoming more important to everyone in construction. The argument is settled that breathable materials should be used, it’s now in the Building Regulations. A couple of large manufacturers of petrochemical insulation products have recently bought woodfibre manufacturers. I think that signals how they think things are going. Environmental Product Declarations have to be done for each product we buy or produce. The Environmental Product Declaration for our woodfibre boards is negative! The beauty is it’s full of stored carbon. So it’s completely different to insulated plasterboard, which is a good insulator but takes ages to pay back its own carbon footprint.

• How has Brexit impacted on your business?

We have always tried so far as possible to make things in the UK. We innovate for the UK market, drive UK jobs and reduce our carbon footprint from transport. So Brexit hasn’t changed that.

It would be brilliant for us if they’d helped with greater support for UK manufacturing! That really would have suited us.

• So which local buildings have your lime in?

Loads! Dozens of churches, the cathedrals of Hereford and Worcester, and Chester, Ludlow Town Walls, Chester as well, and Shrewsbury. Conwy Castle, Ludlow Castle. The Tower of London! Oh and 10 Downing St, it has our lime plaster.

So when I’m walking through Shrewsbury tonight I’ll be on Town Walls, I’ll look out for your lime! Thank you very much Simon.

Thank you.