VASO by Eco bosses flew to Barbados to discuss building homes on the island, and across other countries in the region, using its innovation which enables sustainable construction at volume, globally.

VASO by Eco is a world-leading circular housebuilding innovation which creates building solutions from panels manufactured from recycled glass, providing affordable, thermally efficient, low carbon dwellings which are rapid to construct.

VASO by Eco’s Chief Executive Officer, Eddie Black, and Chief Technology Officer, Simon Parrish, represented the company at the Trade Mission in Barbados.

Eddie said: “We’re delighted to have attended this year’s international Trade Mission in Barbados and showcased how our innovative products can benefit people on the island and in the wider region.

“It was an amazing opportunity for us to make connections and build relationships with international investors, as well as being part of the overall goal to increase trade between the UK and Barbados.

“The mission has a strong focus on certain sectors, with one of them being renewable energy and sustainable solutions. This enabled us to meet with local industry leaders and potential partners and discuss how we can support the Barbados community.”

The Trade Mission in Barbados was created in 2019 by Jo Smith of Renfrewshire Business Network, and Shane Thomas and Kaye Greenidge of Invest Barbados, and has since become an annual event.

Many event attendees over the years have either now set up operations on the island or are in the process of doing so. This includes Jo herself, who has worked with Barbados Community College to deliver social care courses to its healthcare students, through her company A1 Training Services.

VASO by Eco joins a long list of Scottish companies who have participated in the Trade Missions, including the University of West Scotland and Abergower Ltd, which specialises in digitalisation.   

The Trade Mission took place shortly after International Trade Week which showcased the UK’s exporting potential.

Led by the Department for Business and Trade and sponsored by Santander, the event featured five days of free workshops and webinars designed to help UK businesses explore new markets and grow internationally. 

VASO by Eco has responded to the UK’s need to build more homes more quickly by investing in a new manufacturing site which will create up to 70 jobs.

Eco Group has more than doubled its footprint in south-west Scotland by investing in a 60,000-square-feet manufacturing site in Dumfries where it will manufacture VASO by Eco’s innovative recycled glass panels for the housing and general construction markets.

The VASO by Eco manufacturing plant, which also has 1.8 acres of yard space at the Dumfries site, will immediately create 12 new jobs rising to a total of 70 new jobs within the next five years.

The manufacturing facility will help alleviate the housing crisis in Scotland as well as in the rest of the UK and abroad, by adopting industrialised construction methods.

VASO by Eco’s innovation is also being proposed for a new housing project in Closeburn, near Dumfries. The homes are designed to be available to young people from the area or seniors looking for affordable homes at attractive rents which are warmer and cheaper to heat.

The project will be in partnership with Nith Valley Leaf Trust and South of Scotland Community Housing, with South of Scotland Enterprise recently having completed a feasibility report for the development of the brownfield site.