Alitex are a familiar face at the SGD Awards, having sponsored the event from the very beginning.
They have recently celebrated their 70th year in business, designing and manufacturing Victorian style glasshouses for some of most prestigious gardens in the world. From large bespoke projects, to their official partnership with the National Trust, all Alitex greenhouses are built with the finest quality aluminium for a beautiful and long-lasting finish. You will find their structures amongst some incredible gardens and at renowned sites, such as the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew in London, Arundel Castle in West Sussex and several locations across National Trust Estates.
Alitex glasshouse specialists John Lawson and Chris Sawyer, a charismatic duo with over 80 years combined knowledge and experience between them, will be attending the awards. Make sure you join them for a drink and chat to delve into some of the impressive projects from Alitex’s past. There will also be many other friendly faces around the table; Mark Cooper and James Whittle who take the lead on new large bespoke projects, as well as the rest of our dedicated Sales Designers Paul Greenaway, Simon Macey, Linda Swarbrick and James Winfield.
In September of last year, the beautiful Shackleton Garden, Ireland opened where two of Alitex’s large Thomas Messenger greenhouses live within the grounds. Back in 2017, Fingal County Council acquired Shackleton Garden and began working on its restoration. Their goal was to open the garden up to the public as an important local amenity and tourism asset in the Dublin 15 area. As part of this project, they were looking for a greenhouse company to help restore two old timber structures that required a lot of work. Alitex were chosen as the partner for this project by Fingal County Council because of their original involvement at Belvedere House & Park, Mullingar, County Westmeath 20 years ago. During that time, Alitex were launching their first Thomas Messenger glasshouse design, a bespoke system designed to replicate the traditional Victorian glasshouse. This design steered Fingal County Council to choose them for the restoration at Shackleton Garden.
The new glasshouses are nestled within the walled garden, one is a monopitch designed to house vines. The other, a three-quarter span structure with a hipped roof, designed to be a ‘Hot House’ to bring on tropical plants and other temperate varieties. Alitex are delighted to join the SGD in sponsoring their Lifetime Achievement Award again at this year’s ceremony.