From November 2025 to January 2026, Anglia Decor stripped 8,000m² of asbestos cement roofing off the New Holland Tractor Manufacturing Plant in Basildon and replaced it with a Kingspan 100mm composite system. The project was delivered above a live manufacturing operation. The line below kept running. There were zero reportable safety incidents over the full duration of the works.
The scope
The full programme covered the strip-out and replacement of the entire 8,000m² roof, plus the supporting infrastructure that comes with a properly specified industrial re-roof:
- Removal and licensed disposal of 8,000m² of asbestos cement roofing
- Installation of Kingspan 100mm composite roof panels
- New galvanised steel gutters and rainwater goods
- New rooflight skylights to improve natural daylight inside the plant
- Full perimeter edge protection systems
- Underside safety netting beneath all working areas
Every element was completed in compliance with current HSE regulations, manufacturer guidelines, and New Holland's own site-specific safety requirements. The completed installation carries a 25-year manufacturer's warranty.
Why the safety planning had to come first
Working on an asbestos roof above a live manufacturing floor is one of the higher-risk roofing scenarios in the industrial sector. We controlled it through layered planning rather than relying on any single safeguard.
The asbestos itself was handled under a fully compliant licensed removal process — controlled removal methods, continuous air monitoring throughout the strip-out, and certified waste disposal through approved facilities. Detailed RAMS, asbestos plans of work, and site inductions were all signed off before anyone stepped onto the roof.
Edge protection was installed before any roof works started, so collective fall protection covered the perimeter for the full duration. Underside safety netting was fitted beneath the working areas to protect personnel below and prevent debris reaching the manufacturing floor. The works were phased so that no single section ever sat in a state where workers below were exposed.
Why Kingspan composite over any alternative
The replacement specification was Kingspan 100mm composite panels. The reasoning was operational as much as it was technical:
- Thermal performance. Asbestos cement has effectively no insulation value. The new panels significantly cut heat loss through the roof envelope — a meaningful operating cost reduction at this scale.
- Weather resistance and longevity. The deteriorating asbestos sheets had reached the end of their service life. Kingspan composite is engineered for 25-plus years of weather exposure.
- Lower maintenance burden. A modern composite system needs far less reactive maintenance than an aged cement roof, which lowers long-term cost of ownership.
- Asset upgrade. The clean, modern profile aligns with New Holland's wider asset upgrade strategy.
The result
The New Holland roof was delivered on programme over 3 months. New Holland have a fully compliant, high-performance roofing system with a 25-year warranty, improved thermal efficiency, better natural lighting, and modern rainwater management — with the manufacturing line never having stopped.
For more detail see the full New Holland case study, or read about our wider asbestos roof replacement capability.