GAGAs deadline looming

Submit your entries by 29 April 2022

If you’re thinking of entering the 2022 GAGAs (the Galvanizers Association Galvanizing Awards), the time is now, as the deadline for entries is just under a month away, on 29 April 2022. Entering the GAGAs is free, quick and easy. You can download the entry form here.

Here’s five reasons to enter the GAGAs:

1. Get recognition for your project.
2. Get featured in Hot Dip Galvanizing Magazine, which has a circulation of over 30,000 specifiers across Europe.
3. Get profiled on the Galvanizer’s Association website.
4. Be a part of a Galvanizer’s Association PR campaign.
5. Raise the profile of your practice.

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Sustainability specification complements NSSS

The publication is free to download from the BCSA website.

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We’d love to see you there!

This year sees the return of the RIDBA Industry Open Day (Thursday 21 April), and we’re not only proud to be one of the headline sponsors, but we’ll also be talking about galvanizing at the event.

Hosted by the Rural and Industrial Design and Building Association, the day will include talks from expert speakers on topics such as:

• Design of livestock buildings for an environmentally ethical future – Jamie Robertson, RIDBA Livestock Consultant
• Keeping your galvanizer safe – Michael Worth, Head of Technical & ESG, Joseph Ash Galvanizing
• Technical updates including NSSS – Martin Heywood, RIDBA Technical Consultant
• Managing mental health in the workplace – Adrian Brine of Citation

Guests will also have the opportunity to enjoy a nice lunch and catch-up with industry colleagues, suppliers and sponsors.

It will take place at the beautiful Abbey Hotel in Malvern, Worcestershire, and will conclude with a tour of the nearby Morgan Motors Factory.

If you’d like to attend, there’s still time to get a ticket! We’d love to see you there.

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See our February 2022 newsletter – published today. This month we’ve shined a spotlight on our Bilston team. It’s been a busy few months for the plant with a new office building, visits from a local historian and the Shadow Chief Secretary to the Treasury, and the receipt of a well-deserved environmental certification. Read it here.

To receive a copy of the newsletter in your inbox each month please subscribe.

Simply scroll to the bottom of the page and look for the ‘Newsletter Sign-Up’ button.

Have a great Friday and a great weekend!

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Last week, our Bilston plant had a visit from Pat McFadden, Labour MP for Wolverhampton South East and Shadow Chief Secretary to the Treasury. Lucy Foster-Bowen (Commercial Manager) and Robert Nelson (Divisional Manager) showed him around the Bilston plant. Pat was impressed the variety of steel we process at Joseph Ash, including – in this photo – vine pickets for vineyards across Europe.

Bilston is proud of the plant and the work carried out there, so it’s always great to welcome new visitors.

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At the beginning of the month, Lucy Foster-Bowen, Commercial Manager at Joseph Ash Bilston, showed Dr Greig Campbell around the plant. Greig is a Bilston born historian whose PhD focused on the campaign to save Bilston Steelworks in the late 1970s. The steelworks was located on the site of Joseph Ash Bilston and produced more than 275,000t of metal per year in its heyday. 

Working together, Bilston and Greig plan to build a permanent exhibition of the site which will incorporate the past, the present and the future of Joseph Ash Bilston. Watch this space for more information! In the meantime, if you’d like to know more about the old steelworks:

Blackcountryhistory.org

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2022 marks the dawn of a good year for Joseph Ash Bilston. Not only have they opened a new office building at the plant, but they’ve also become ISO 14001 certified. Find out more!

New office building

Joseph Ash Bilston has been going from strength to strength over the last few years, and growth meant the need for a new office building. 

The office building houses our team members who look after sales, the management of the plant, and accounts. But unfortunately, they had outgrown the space, and the facilities were dated.

When the plant drew up plans for a new office, it was also an excellent opportunity to ensure a new build would be as green as possible. As a result, a state-of-the-art environmentally friendly building was designed. The building work took place in the second half of 2021, finishing just before Christmas.

Joseph Ash team members moved in at the beginning of January and are pleased with the new facilities. Not only do they have more space, but there are also some environmental features to be proud of:

Solar PV array with an output of 29087kWh

The building now has fantastic solar panels that will harness greener energy. PV means photovoltaic – a way to convert sunlight into electricity.

1 phase 10kW battery storage from the solar PV array

Solar panels are great, but it’s not always sunny in Bilston! Not a problem, though, as there are solar storage systems in place to provide energy on even the greyest days. Not only a green initiative but also cost-saving for heating costs. 

Heating/cooling with air source heat pump and radiant ceiling grid panels

Traditional radiators may soon be a thing of the past, as they primarily heat the air in a space. Instead, Bilston’s new radiant heating panels radiate, heating the solid objects in areas such as people and furniture. In addition, zero gas is required to heat the building, and there’s a supplementary electric boiler supplied from solar power when needed. 

SunGuard eXtraSelective – SNX 60 double glazed window glass 

Bilston’s new windows further reduce energy costs by delivering thermal insulation and lowering the demand for artificial lighting, air conditioning and heating.

The environmental initiatives have ensured the new office building is carbon neutral, helping Bilston maintain its status as the greenest Galvanizer in the UK. 

Our environmental initiatives continue with ISO 14001 certification

We’re pleased to announce that Joseph Ash Bilston has recently become ISO 14001 Environmental Management certified. ISO 14001 certifies that Bilston has:

1. Minimised how processes etc., negatively affect the environment.
2. Complies with environmental laws and regulations.
3. Continually improves in all these areas. 

Joseph Ash Bilston and the entire Joseph Ash Group is delighted with the certification as part of our sustainability mission. Bilston is also proud to claim that they are now the greenest galvanizer in the UK.

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Read our latest newsletter – hot off the press today! Read about our new ‘Hot dip galvanizing green plan’ (a fun, interactive animation that’s definitely worth a look), a project we did last year with the award winning sculptor Ian Gill, some plant news bites, and a celebration of 25 year’s service from Mark Gregory at Joseph Ash Medway.

To read a copy click here.

To receive a copy of the newsletter in your inbox each month please subscribe.

Simply scroll to the bottom of the page and look for the ‘Newsletter Sign-Up’ button.

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As the steel construction industry moves to net-zero carbon by 2050, embracing the ideals expressed at COP26, Joseph Ash is playing its part.

Some of our decarbonisation initiatives include minimising energy usage, reusing waste heat to warm pre-treatment tanks, and improving burner efficiency. Plant emissions are also carefully controlled to ensure neighbouring communities are not adversely affected.

Our latest carbon reduction project has changed the lighting at all plants and our Head Office to be more energy efficient.

In late 2021 we engaged MODO to replace all the high-powered traditional lighting at three sites with LED fittings and motion sensors.

For example, at our Chesterfield plant, MODO replaced over 300 light fittings. The company also installed motion sensors in low traffic areas, which power the lights on immediately when motion is detected, dimming down when the site is inactive and then powering off.

The switch to Modo LED also reduced the CO2 emissions by a massive 117 metric tonnes, equivalent to the average car driving 286,867 miles!

MODO carried out the same project at Premier Galvanizing Hull, plus our Head Office. (Other Joseph Ash Group plants were updated earlier.)

Please get in touch to find out more about carbon efficiency projects at Joseph Ash Galvanizing.

You can also see how we are committed to preventing pollution and minimising environmental impacts by viewing our Green Plan interactive infographic, newly published on our website.

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The importance of trust when choosing a galvanizer.

When the Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust wanted to commemorate the Slimbridge 75 Project, they turned to Ian Gill – award-winning contemporary metal artist, and blacksmith – to create a sculpture. ‘Nest’ was built and installed on the A38 Slimbridge roundabout in October 2021. Because it was a long project due to planning and the pandemic, Ian needed to ensure the final stage – hot dip galvanizing – was in safe hands. He chose Premier Galvanizing – part of the Joseph Ash Group.

The Wildfowl and Wetland’s Trust (WWT) was created by Sir Peter Scott in 1946, as a place of conservation, and science. The Slimbridge Wetland Centre in Gloucestershire was the first of nine sites for the WWT, and 75 years on, the attraction receives over 250,000 visitors a year and helps protect birds, and their wetland habitats.

To commemorate the 75th birthday of the first site, the WWT wanted a sculpture on the A38 Slimbridge roundabout, that people would see as they enter the wetlands.

With funding from Moto in the Community and the National Lottery Heritage Fund, the WWT set a competition for school pupils from Slimbridge Primary School to design a sculpture that symbolised what the Wetlands Centre meant to them. The winning design, submitted by an 11-year old pupil, incorporated a blend of natural wetland habitats, insects and bird species spotted at Slimbridge.

Award-winning sculptor, Ian Gill, was tasked with bringing the sculpture to life in his studio in Lincolnshire.

With its intricate design of reeds, wildlife and Lilly pads, plus over 3500kg of steel, it took Ian 14 months to forge the steel.

It’s not just wildlife protection

When steel is used in outdoor art or construction, it needs to be protected from the environment, to ensure longevity. A hot dip galvanized coating is the perfect finish, as it provides a beautiful silver shine and protects the steel from rust.

When working on ‘Nest’, Ian had only just moved from Essex to Lincolnshire and even though he had been pleased with his previous galvanizer, he wanted a company closer to his new location. So he met with Premier Galvanizing in early 2020 and learnt about our expertise in galvanizing steel for intricate works of art.

Entrusting work to a new galvanizer can be a daunting prospect. Especially when galvanization is the final stage of a project that has taken over a year to fabricate. In the hands of the wrong galvanizer, a project can be ruined in minutes. But Premier Galvanizing allayed Ian’s concerns.  We invited him to watch how the steel was carefully loaded onto the trucks at his studio and welcomed him to the plant to see how the steel would be unloaded and dipped into the zinc bath for the galvanizing process.

Ian was impressed, stating that “The communication level and quality of work from Premier Galvanizing is second to none.”

Ian has since used Premier Galvanizing for several sculptures, including ‘The Singing Waterlilly’, a signature piece of art for Raymond Blanc’s pop-up restaurant in Chelsea in 2021.

Here’s to the next 75 years

The WWT grew in strength over the years, and now has nine sites across the UK, welcoming over a million visitors every year.

When ‘Nest’ was installed, Moto in the Community Chair Louise Hughes said: “We’re so excited [about] this beautiful sculpture… Everyone at Moto in the Community is so pleased that WWT will now have this local landmark to signpost Slimbridge as the home of conservation as we know it today.

Alongside the work and projects that Moto in the Community has supported at WWT Slimbridge itself, we’re delighted that this sculpture can help showcase WWT’s 75th anniversary celebrations to the local community and beyond.”

Ian said “With our biodiversity in decline, ‘Nest’ is a constant reminder that without nurture and change, this is what we could lose.

The sculpture depicts an infinity of lily pads, with a whole range of wildfowl and birds living amongst it, creating its sanctuary. Raising awareness and reminding us how beautiful nature is around us and why we need to protect it.”

Andrew Tweddle, Premier Galvanizing Hull said: “We’ve been proud to showcase to Ian the quality of work and customer service we provide when hot dip galvanizing steel and we look forward to working with him on many projects in the future.

It’s also been an honour to hot dip galvanize ‘Nest’ for the WWT and the visitors to Slimbridge. Here’s to the next 75 years for the WWT, and we hope the sculpture is enjoyed for many years to come.”

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To read more about Ian Gill’s work, visit his website at www.iangillsculpture.com, or follow him on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter. (See links on his site.) You can see Ian’s work all over the UK. His work can also be seen in Palm Springs, Mumbai and the Czech Republic. He also exhibits at the Chelsea Flower Show every year.

To read more about the Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust, visit their website at www.wwt.org.uk. You can also read about their founder – Sir Peter Scott, who, interestingly was the son of Antarctic explorer Captain Scott.

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