Rebuilding a hurricane devastated school
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.
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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.
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Congratulations to the runners and riders of the Velo Birmingham.
A couple of weekends ago the inaugural Velo Birmingham took place in the Midlands.
The course was 100 miles long and 15,000 cyclists of all abilities took part, criss-crossing through the picturesque Worcestershire and Staffordshire countryside before returning to Birmingham.
The event – which raised funds for various charities – was also created as part of the Birmingham Cycle Revolution, whereby Birmingham City Council are trying to encourage more people to take to the roads on two wheels, rather than four.
As per an earlier story on our website in March, we’re proud to say that members of Joseph Ash Galvanizing and Premier Galvanizing took part in the race: Stuart Cobourne, Justin Deegan and Richard Hall. They enjoyed the event and achieved very respectable times between 5.30 and 7.11 hours.
A Premier Galvanizing client, Stephen Harvey, also took part alongside Justin.
It was touch and go whether Justin would be able to do the race after his bike broke just before the start line. But luckily, a company called Cycle Republic – who had a stand at the event – were on hand to lend him another one.
Justin said: “The race itself was brilliant, the route and crowds were exceptional, and if I could choose between Ride London and Ride Birmingham, I would definitely choose Birmingham. A post ride beer and massage was the perfect way to finish a brilliant event. Are we comng back next year? 100%.”
Congratulations to the team!
You can see some of the photos of our team members at the event here.
Here’s to the Velo Birmingham 2018!
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Joseph Ash Galvanizing continues to support the Lily Mae Foundation at annual charity event.
On Friday 21 April Joseph Ash Galvanizing once again hosted guests at a charity golf day at The Belfry for a local stillbirth charity.
The Golf Day is organised every year by the Lily Mae Foundation – an organisation created to support parents and families affected by stillbirth or neonatal death.
Joseph Ash Galvanizing bought tickets for rounds of golf, seats at the evening dinner, and sponsored a hole. We also hosted many clients and partners at the event.
The Golf Day alone has raised £17,000 to help the charity.
If you attended the event, we hope you had fun and hopefully you’ll join us again in 2018.
To see photos of the event visit the Joseph Ash Galvanizing Flickr profile.
To find out more about the work of the Lily Mae Foundation, click here.
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In April 2016 Joseph Ash Galvanizing published an article about the Passchendaele Salute 2017 – an event that will be held near Lille, France later this year, to commemorate the centenary of the end of the Battle of Passchendaele during World War One. (You can read the full article here.)
As time draws near – with only six months to go – we thought we’d highlight the event again by asking you to visit the Passchendaele Salute 2017 website.
“The Passchendaele Salute 2017, under the patronage of Ms Janice Charette, High Commissioner for Canada, will take place on the morning of 10 November 2017 at Fort de Seclin, near Lille in France. A Drumhead service of remembrance and a Salute of 100 rounds to commemorate the centenary of the end of the Battle of Passchendaele and honour the gunners.”
We’re pleased to say that John Slough of London (a client of Joseph Ash Galvanizing who refurbishes antique guns), will carry some of the guns that will be used in the Salute from the UK to France, on some of our Joseph Ash Galvanizing lorries.
The Passchendaele Salute 2017 will also raise money for a worthy charity called Combat Stress that provides free specialist and clinical treatment and support to ex-servicemen and women.
Keep a watch out on our website for further updates!
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Joseph Ash Galvanizing to take part in Velo Birmingham charity bike ride.
In late September this year, the Velo Birmingham event is taking place. Velo Birmingham is a 100-mile bike ride, with 15,000 bikers, all helping to raise money for charity.
The charities include the NSPCC, Cure Leukaemia, the Alzheimer’s Society, and the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Birmingham.
The cyclists’ route will start in Birmingham, head out through picturesque Herefordshire and Worcestershire, and finish back in Birmingham.
Three people from Joseph Ash Galvanizing will be taking part, Richard Hall (from Joseph Ash Galvanizing’s Head Office), Stuart Cobourne (from Joseph Ash Telford), and Justin Deegan from Joseph Ash’s Premier Galvanizing division. They will also be joined by Steven Harvey, who is a client of Premier Galvanizing and who works for steel fabricators Lee Warren.
Joseph Ash Galvanizing’s parent company, Hill & Smith, has also entered a team so there will be some healthy inter-rivalry and competition to spur our cyclists on.
Joseph Ash Galvanizing and Hill & Smith are also sponsoring part of the event as part of the Business 100 club. The aim of the Business 100 club is to sign-up 100 corporate teams, cycling 100 miles and collectively raising £100,000.
Justin Deegan, Stuart Cobourne and Steven Harvey are experienced cyclists, whereas Richard Hall has only recently found a love for biking. We wish them all well!
The event is on 24 September. We’ll keep you updated on their training progress and how they do on the actual day.
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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.
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In our news this month we’re sharing the story of Keeley McKee, the granddaughter of Judith Morris, an Internal Sales Administrator at Joseph Ash Telford.
Keeley Mckee is a six year old girl who, up until recently, had never had a hair cut. The time had come for a trim, however Keeley decided that not only did she want a more grown up hair style (she is six after all!), but she could also do something kind by getting the majority of her hair chopped off to support a worthy charity – the Little Princess Trust.
The Little Princess Trust is a Midlands based charity which was set up to help boys and girls across the UK and Ireland, who have suffered hair loss through cancer. The charity supplies real hair wigs to children whose families may not be able to afford such wigs.
When Keeley had her hair cut, she donated it to the Little Princess Trust, who will send the hair off to be made into a wig. Not satisfied with simply supplying her own hair, Keeley also decided to raise funds for the charity by asking people to sponsor her. (Joseph Ash Galvanizing has been one such sponsor and we have happily sent a cheque for £100.)
Well done Keeley! This is a selfless act and we hope a little boy or girl benefits from your kindness!
If you’d like to add more funds to the charity in Keeley’s name, please contact the Little Princess Trust via email or phone 01432 363505.
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Joseph Ash Galvanizing employees asked to design an innovative safety solution to enhance health and safety at our plants.
The health and safety of employees is of paramount importance to Joseph Ash Galvanizing, and concerns had been growing about the safety of team members in our plants working under large jigs suspended in the air by cranes. As a company we wanted to find a solution which would prevent workers being badly injured should a crane fail.
To this end, Steven Hopkins, the Managing Director at Joseph Ash Galvanizing set all employees a challenge to design a simple, portable safety solution, not involving heavy chunks of fabricated steelwork. To encourage innovative ideas, Steven also provided an incentive whereby the winning designer would be given £500 to donate to a charity of his/her choice.
After a very short time we are pleased to report that Lee Groves, from Joseph Ash Bilston, designed and fabricated some portable supports which will protect the safety of our employees when working under a jig.
The solution was important to Lee and throughout the process he asked for feedback from other colleagues in order to produce a solution that would be adopted in practise.
Lee has chosen SARA – the Severn Area Rescue Association – as the charity to receive £500 and Joseph Ash Galvanizing has donated the money in Lee’s name.
Not only has Lee helped to ensure the safety of his colleagues, but his donation is also helping to keep people safe on the rivers and land in the Severn Estuary area.
Well done Lee!
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Joseph Ash Galvanizing buys new team strip for Leek Rugby Under 12s team.
Joseph Ash Galvanizing has sponsored the Leek Rugby Under 12s team strip. This is the second year that Joseph Ash Galvanizing has invested in the team, and plans to do so again next year.
The Leek Rugby Under 12s are based in the Staffordshire Moorlands in a village named Cheddleton. They play extensively throughout Staffordshire and have just started to play teams from Leicestershire and Cheshire.
Joseph Ash Galvanizing decided to sponsor the rugby team as the head coach, Ian Byrne, is the Managing Director of L M Bateman & Co Ltd, a valued customer of Joseph Ash Galvanizing’s Telford plant.
Over the years the Leek Rugby Under 12s team has been very successful:
Under 7:
Matlock Festival Champions
Under 8:
Stoke Festival Champions
Staffordshire County Champions
Lost no games throughout the season
Under 9:
Staffordshire County Champions
Under 10:
Won the Prima Tigers Cup qualifying tournament and represented Leek RUFC with three games at Welford Road (home of Leicester Tigers)
Staffordshire County Champions
Under 12:
Won all their games at Staffordshire County Championships, and finished with the best record.
The team has also welcomed seven girls into the fold, one of which has set up a new girls’ team. This is one of very few girls’ under 12s teams in the country and is an exciting development for the club.
Joseph Ash Galvanizing looks forward to supporting the hard work and team ethic of the Leek Rugby Under 12s in the coming future.
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