Sustainability week 2026
Every year we hold a sustainability week across our nine UK sites, where each site takes part in an initiative as part of our commitment to improving our sustainability, both inside and outside the company.
This year, each division carried out a sustainable action to contribute, ranging from re-wilding to bench-making, with many other activities in-between. Take a look at what we’ve been up to here…
Re-wilding – Bridgend and Chesterfield
Joseph Ash Bridgend gave packets of wildflower seeds to colleagues and customers, spreading the sustainability outside the company and encouraging more people to be involved.
Joseph Ash Chesterfield scattered wildflower seeds and compost on the bank behind the trailer park. All colleagues were also given “revive a bee” seed papers, filled with more wildflower seeds ready for planting. Plenty were given around for people’s families to take part at home too.
Bid box designing – Medway and Telford
Joseph Ash Medway held a bird box painting competition; all boxes were supplied for colleagues and their families to paint and decorate, with 1st, 2nd and 3rd places winning an easter egg. They also planted wildflower seeds around the perimeter of the site.
1st place was awarded to Wayne Muggeridge for his Lego-themed bird box, with 2nd place won by Kosala Herath.
It was a tough competition with a 3rd place impossible to choose, meaning that everyone was a winner and won an easter egg.
At Joseph Ash Telford, Vern & Chris (our Caretakers) put their horticultural and carpentry skill to the test by rejuvenating the site wildflower garden and repurposing pallets and timbers on site to build some bird boxes and a bench. We already have birds nesting within the boxes!
Litter picking – Widnes and Head Office
Both Joseph Ash Widnes and Head Office went litter picking around their local communities. Widnes volunteered for Halton Borough Council in Hale Village, and Head Office went over to Leasowes Park just a short walk away.
The first week of June marks Sustainability Week across Joseph Ash Galvanizing and Premier Galvanizing, part of the Hill & Smith PLC Group. The week aims to encourage colleagues to focus on all things sustainability, with various activities set across the week to help both the business’ sustainability and promote awareness both internally and externally.
For this year, our Premier Galvanizing Corby site was proud to donate 15 pallets to Monkspath Junior and Infant School in Solihull for the team at Hill & Smith to transform into small dens, houses, and shelving units. With summer fast approaching, it was the perfect time to create the classroom, ready for the new school term.
The classroom also incorporated painted pots, stones, tables and pinecones, alongside other elements to decorate the outdoor classroom and make the space both functional and fun.
Well done to the Hill & Smith team on the fantastic job!
Thank you to everyone who joined us!
The annual Lily Mae Foundation Charity Golf Day and Dinner Dance took place on Friday 14 April. It was a great day! Thank you to everyone who joined us.
The Lily Mae Foundation supports parents and families after a stillbirth, neonatal death, miscarriage or medical termination. We’ve supported the charity for over a decade, regularly attending its annual golf/dinner dance event and helping to raise in excess of £150k.
There were 32 teams who took part this year, made up of clients, suppliers, and team members across our Joseph Ash Galvanizing, Premier Galvanizing and Widnes Galvanising plants.
Attendees were greeted with a charity gift bag containing goodies and snacks for the day. They then fuelled up with bacon baps and coffee before teeing off. Teams concluded the day with the evening dinner dance, where we witnessed fewer bogeys, and a lot more boogie!
Congratulations Lily Mae Foundation on another fabulous event!
An amazing initiative by Joseph Ash Walsall funds for a local food bank just in time for Easter
What a fantastic day at Joseph Ash Walsall! We recently set ourselves the target of donating Easter Eggs and funds to help support Breaking Bread, a much-needed food bank based in Wednesbury in the Midlands.
Breaking Bread is a non-profit community interest group that runs solely off donations from the public. It has been running for 10 years and, in that time, has gone from servicing 38 families to 200 families a month.
When we started the initiative, our initial target was £1000 and gathering enough Easter Eggs to give to all the children of families who visit the food bank.
But through the kind donations of all our team, clients and suppliers, as well as donations and support from our other plants in the Joseph Ash Group, we managed to raise an enormous £3900 and enough Easter Eggs for everyone who visits the food bank (children and adults alike).
Amy Leachman and Zoe Chapman from Joseph Ash Walsall delivered two carloads of Easter Eggs to the charity earlier this week, and today we invited Lyn Walford and Joyce Turner from Breaking Bread to visit our plant, enjoy some lunch, and attend a presentation to receive the remaining egg donations and the cheque to help fund future food purchases.
Lyn Walford said: “We run Breaking Bread food bank as a non-profit. We’re all volunteers. We do it to support the local community. People come to us. They’re generally in a distressed state. They’re desperate for help. Some may not have eaten for several days, so we provide them with food to last them over three to four days, and if they’re not sorted after that, they can come back again, and we will help them further. What you’ve done here… it’s amazing. The support you’ve given us – and ongoing support, as we’ve discussed today – is fabulous. And it’s also meant that where we can normally only give little children Easter Eggs, today we’ve been able to give everyone Easter Eggs! The funds of almost £4000 will help us stock up on food for local families. Thank you!”
Like many food banks, the charity finds it more challenging to provide a service due to the growing demand and lack of donations due to the current cost of living crisis. However, we’ve been delighted to help.
The Just Giving page for this initiative is here if you’d like to contribute further to the charity.
Have a great Easter and Bank Holiday weekend, everyone!
A UK steel industry backed project to rebuild a hurricane-hit primary school is nearing completion in the Caribbean.
Dorset-based John Reid & Sons Ltd (REIDsteel) is leading a consortium of UK businesses – including Joseph Ash Galvanizing – which have joined forces to help reconstruct the Enis Adams Primary School on Tortola in the British Virgin Islands.
Other businesses include Tata Steel, National Tube Stockholders, Euroclad, Ayrshire Metal Products, BAPP, Powell Gee & Co Ltd, Kestrel Liner Agencies and Meachers Global Logistics.
REIDsteel commercial director Tim Cook has just returned from Tortola where he saw how work was progressing under main contractor Newton Construction Co Ltd.
Tim said: “It was great to see the new school in person.
“All of the steelwork has gone up and work is going well as it nears completion. The school is being rebuilt to modern standards and requirements with disabled facilities, and an additional second floor.
“As well as seven classrooms on the ground floor, it will have a science lab, IT Suite, library, large seminar room on the second floor plus a medical room.
“The school will be much improved on the previous building and will create a real legacy for the future.”
The school was completely destroyed when hurricanes Irma and Maria swept through Tortola in October 2017.
Virgin Islands businessman Peter Haycraft, a longstanding client of REIDsteel with his former business Road Town Wholesale, has pledged his own money for the reconstruction.
REIDsteel, based in Christchurch, Dorset, with 130 employees, designed and supplied steelwork, and rallied its suppliers to support the project too.
Now they are to send keepsakes to Tortola for a time capsule to be buried at the school before it is due to open to pupils in the Autumn.
Hesketh Newton, managing director of Newton Construction Co Ltd, said: “The school is taking shape with every passing day and will be superb once finished.”
Mr Haycraft said: “It is gratifying to see the Enis Adams school rise from the rubble as our community works to put the devastation of the hurricanes behind us.”
REIDsteel designed the new school to withstand 185 mile per hour winds and earthquakes based on Unified Building Code Occupancy Category III and IV.
All of its 26 buildings in the British Virgin Islands survived the hurricanes of 2017 with only superficial damage.
Mr Cook saw firsthand how the company’s structures had stood strong while others collapsed around them during his recent visit.
Others involved in the Enis Adams project are architect AEMC Architectural Services, Civil Engineer AEC Consulting Engineers Ltd, Electrical Barry’s Electrical Services, Reliable Plumbing, S & D Security, and the British Virgin Islands Ministry of Education and Culture.
Tata Steel has helped with supply of floor decking and giving Colorcoat ® pre-finished steel for roofing, whilst Cardiff based Euroclad has given finished roof materials.
Thirsk-based National Tube Stockholders has given steel tube and steel hollow sections, Joseph Ash Galvanizing has hot-dip galvanised the structural steelwork and Ayrshire Metal Products has given secondary steel cold rolled purlins.
Barnsley-based BAPP has supplied industrial fasteners and bolts, Powell Gee of Shrewsbury has supplied fixings for floor decking and the external cladding envelope.
Kestrel Liner Agencies has helped with shipment and Meachers Global Logistics with shipping services.
Joseph Ash joins forces with REIDSteel and steel suppliers to rebuild hurricane devastated school.
Steelwork is on a 4,000 mile journey from Dorset to the Caribbean for the reconstruction of a primary school, devastated by hurricanes Irma and Maria last year.
Christchurch-based John Reid & Sons Ltd (REIDsteel) is leading a consortium of businesses in the UK which have joined forces to help rebuild the Enis Adams Primary School in the British Virgin Islands.
The company, which has exported to the Caribbean for more than 30 years, has rallied its suppliers to provide support free of charge, in kind or at a discounted rate to the total value of £35,000.
The suppliers are Tata Steel, National Tube Stockholders, Joseph Ash Galvanizing, Euroclad, Ayrshire Metal Products, BAPP, Powell Gee & Co Ltd, Kestrel Liner Agencies and Meachers Global Logistics.
The main contractor in Tortola, Newton Construction Co Ltd, with whom REIDsteel has worked for 34 years, is leading the construction work and will erect the steelwork.
Virgin Islands businessman Peter Haycraft, who was a longstanding client of REIDsteel with his former business Road Town Wholesale, has pledged $1m of his own money for the school reconstruction to help the local community.
REIDsteel – whose specialities include disaster-resistant buildings – designed and manufactured the steelwork to withstand any future hurricanes and to give something back to the islands.
Now four 40’ cargo containers full of steel work are being shipped across the Atlantic for the project on the island of Tortola, with three more to follow in the coming months.
REIDsteel commercial director Tim Cook said: “We have built strong personal and professional relationships over many years in the Caribbean.
“It was terrible to see the damage wreaked by the hurricanes last year so we’re very grateful to Peter Haycraft for giving us the opportunity to help him give something back to Tortola.
“Our thanks to our suppliers and business associates who rallied around immediately. It is great to see the first shipment depart and we’re looking forward to the school rising from the ashes.”
Others involved in the project are architect AEMC Architectural Services, Civil Engineer AEC Consulting Engineers Ltd, Electrical Barry’s Electrical Services, Reliable Plumbing, S & D Security, and the British Virgin Islands Ministry of Education and Culture.
Hesketh Newton, managing director of Newton Construction Co Ltd, said: “We have made good progress so far and the new school will really begin to take shape with the arrival of the steelwork.
“As a local family-owned business of 40 years, we’re very pleased for the opportunity to give back by supporting this project.”
Peter Haycraft said: “I have worked closely with REIDsteel and Newton Construction Co Ltd for many years.
“I am delighted that we are all able to do something for the community following the hurricane and look forward to the school children arriving on the first day of term.”
The first ground has been broken for the reconstruction of the school, which is due to open in September 2019.
It will have state of the art classrooms with smart boards, computer suites, library, solar panels, wheelchair access and therapeutic suite for instruction of specially gifted kids.
REIDsteel, which celebrates its centenary next year, designed the building to withstand 185 mile per hour winds and earthquakes based on Unified Building Code Occupancy Category III and IV.
All of REIDsteel’s 26 buildings in the British Virgin Islands survived with only superficial damage after the hurricanes which lashed the region last year.
REIDsteel has provided design and manufacturing services on a not for profit basis worth over £30,000.
Tata Steel is helping with the supply of ComFlor® floor decking and providing Colorcoat® pre-finished steel including Colorcoat Prisma®, whilst Cardiff based Euroclad are giving finished roof systems.
Thirsk-based National Tube Stockholders has given steel tube and steel hollow sections, Joseph Ash Galvanizing is hot-dip galvanizing the structural steelwork and Ayrshire Metal Products has given secondary steel – cold rolled purlins
Barnsley-based BAPP has supplied industrial fasteners and bolts, Powell Gee of Shrewsbury has supplied fixings for floor decking and the external cladding envelope.
Kestrel Liner Agencies, a global Caribbean shipping specialist which offers weekly sailings from more than 145 ports to the Caribbean basin, is helping with shipment and Meachers Global Logistics with shipping services.
Andy Thorne, Kestrel group chairman, said: “In the immediate aftermath of Hurricane Irma and Maria we were able to get people on the ground and provide specialist logistical and financial support to the region.
“A year on we are delighted to team up with our customers and partners to help rebuild the school. Our mission statement says it all, ‘Global reach – local focus’.”
REIDsteel has the capacity to design, manufacture and supply entire steel buildings – including their cladding and glazing – anywhere in the UK, Europe and across the World. It has exported to more than 140 countries to date.
Visit www.reidsteel.com for more details.
Over the last year we have published a few articles about the Passchendaele Salute 2017. In case you’ve missed these articles, Joseph Ash Galvanizing has donated the use of some of its trucks for a number of days, to carry Great War field artillery from the Midlands to France, to take part in the Salute. (You can read the full story here.)
The Passchendaele Salute takes place on 10 November, and in preparation for the event, the trucks and the Great War guns have already started their long journey. They travelled from Hereford to Kent yesterday, where they are stayed overnight, before crossing the English Channel today.
To chart the journey of the artillery and the Joseph Ash Galvanizing trucks, click onto our photo diary on Flickr. We’ll update it with new photos each day.
On 10 November 2017 France will host a service of remembrance to commemorate the centenary of the end of the Battle of Passchendaele during World War One. The event has been named The Passchendaele Salute 2017.
During the service the guns will fire 100 rounds to recognise 100 years since the battle ended. At least 10 Great War guns will be used, which will be manned by teams from Australia, New Zealand, Canada, the UK, Belgium and France.
The Battle of Passchendaele was fought by the Allies against the Germans, on the Western Front from July until November 1917. Field Marshal Haig’s main aim for the battle was to destroy German submarine pens by breaking through to the coast of Belgium. Often referred to as the ‘Battle of Mud’ because the dreadful weather hampered progress, it was a costly campaign as Haig only managed to gain a few miles, and yet 325,000 Allied troops died, as well as 260,000 Germans.
As hundreds of thousands of lives were lost during the Battle, it’s important to remember the men who served. With this in mind Joseph Ash Galvanizing is happy to support the event by donating 3-4 Joseph Ash Galvanizing lorries, for a period of 2-3 days, to help John Slough of London (a client of Joseph Ash Galvanizing who refurbishes antique guns) carry some of the guns from the UK to Lille in France, where the Salute will take place.
The Passchendaele Salute 2017 will not only commemorate the men who died during the Battle, but it will also raise money for a good cause, as Combat Stress is the beneficiary charity.
You can follow news about The Passchendaele Salute 2017 here. Keep an eye on the Joseph Ash Galvanizing website too as we’ll be charting the journey of our lorries, as well as the event in our news stories nearer the time.