The U.K. has been taking a bit of an economic battering of late with some uncertainty around the new Labour Government’s plans for large tax rises and possible spending cuts. But a piece of good news and a sign of confidence came today with the announcement that Fyne Audio, the high-end Scottish loudspeaker manufacturer, is opening a new factory in Glasgow.
The new facility underscores the brand’s commitment to the skills of its U.K. workforce and doubles the company’s production capacity as well as boosting the acoustic performance and aesthetic finish of its products. It also cements Glasgow’s reputation for audio as the city is also the home to Linn Audio.
Since its inception, in 2017, Fyne Audio has been creating loudspeakers aimed at audiophiles and music lovers globally. With its expertise in loudspeaker design and the brand’s bespoke technologies such as the innovative point-source IsoFlare driver and BassTrax bass porting system, Fyne Audio has won many accolades and established itself as a force in the hi-fi market.
The new factory will put Fyne Audio’s U.K. R&D, development, engineering and production all under one roof. The initial design sketches by Fyne Audio’s Dr. Paul Mills, to the final assembly, finishing and testing of speakers will all take place in the new factory which will speed up the implementation of the brand’s latest technologies, patents and innovations, bringing new loudspeaker models to market sooner.
Fyne Audio had outgrown its existing HQ and outsourced warehousing spaces, but the new site covers almost 50,000 square feet, including more than 20,000 square feet of manufacturing and warehousing space. The site has been purchased outright by Fyne Audio, enabling the brand to further expand manufacturing and warehousing space at its Glasgow HQ well into the future.
The new factory is being fitted out to house the Fyne Audio design, development, manufacturing and engineering facilities, including its own Deep Cryogenic Treatment chamber. This enables components, like high-end crossovers, to be treated on-site, giving greater control of temperature and freeze/thaw timings to improve material properties and audio performance.
The new factory will bring Dr Paul Mills and his engineering and design team within the same facility as the manufacturing operations. The company hopes the synergy will foster a seamless workflow between concept and creation, enabling rapid iteration and refinement of designs. The proximity of the teams should ensure engineering innovations can be tested and flow through to the manufacturing process more quickly.
Anji Sosna, Managing Director of Fyne Audio, says: “We are incredibly proud of our new factory, building on the brand’s success over the past seven years. Creating Fyne Audio and bringing multiple ranges of award-winning loudspeakers to markets worldwide has been a significant achievement, and our new facility will stand as the foundation of our future growth plans. The move allows us to deliver even more products that sound extraordinary, look superb and are built to the highest standards here in the UK.”
The factory will have a purpose-built listening room designed for the fine-tuning and critical listening of new loudspeakers. These demo spaces will enable the team to perfect each model’s sonic characteristics.
As part of its long-term vision, Fyne Audio says it is also committed to sustainability, with plans to install around 400 solar panels on the factory’s roof. This initiative will generate enough power to run the entire facility and sell surplus energy back to the grid.
