Two months in and a good year so far for Joseph Ash Bilston

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.

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.

An end of year message from Steven Hopkins, MD, Joseph Ash Ltd

To all our dear customers,

Another challenging year approaches its end! I have come to the view that you, our fabricator customers, and ourselves are sharing the same boat. We all had a dose of uncertainty from the start of 2021, then struggled with labour, then suffered from wage pressure from the driver sector of the workforce, then started to see material supply issues followed by considerable cost increases in just about every bought-in material and chemical. And then, to cap it all, massive increases in energy costs! Oh yes, going full circle, we come back currently to severe pressure on manufacturing wages.

So, I guess we will all be grateful to get 2021 behind us but, hang on, here we go again with possibly another destructive round of Covid! I fear that many Brits have become a bit complacent about it and have begun to ignore the high daily infection numbers, whilst we feel (perhaps with too much confidence) reasonably secured by our double or triple jabs. So caution has gone out of much of our behaviours in public. Not so, though, at Joseph Ash Group – we have never relaxed our Covid defence rules and we have kept up the mask-wearing, distancing, cleaning and detailed investigation of the movements and contacts at work of anyone testing positive for the few days before doing so. Therefore I believe that any of your drivers visiting our sites will continue to be safe, but will, of course, be asked to carry on respecting our rules.

It is difficult to predict the year ahead. Some further restrictions seem highly likely, with maybe even a short lockdown, with lessons learned from 2020 and an acceptance that the economy must continue to function. I doubt if material supply will get any easier for a while yet, and the ongoing, now routine, self-isolation of employees will keep us all several per cent short in labour. On the plus side, demand appears to be holding up. There seems to be plenty of money to fund investment in steel capital goods and projects, with many still awaiting associated materials to allow completion.

So, I wish us all luck in this manufacturing partnership boat of ours, and pray that the seas will remain reasonably calm. But, most of all, I wish that together, our staff and yours will stay healthy and content, starting with a very Happy Christmas for all, followed by a successful, safe and prosperous New Year.

Take very, very good care,

Steven

Patrick Fromant has joined our Corby plant as the new Commercial Manager, responsible for the commercial activity and the sales team.

No stranger to the construction industry, Patrick brings with him a wealth of experience as a Graduate Trainee Manager, a District Sales Manager and Territory Sales Manager at Hanson UK, where he was responsible for several different concrete plants.

Patrick is driven, strategic, analytical, solution-focused, and customer-centric.

When asked why he joined the Joseph Ash Group, he said “After meeting the leadership team, it felt like a fantastic opportunity to join a great business with forward-thinking management. I am keen to utilise and develop my skillset to bring commercial success to the Group.”

In his spare time, Patrick is a regular gym goer and a food fanatic.

Please join us in welcoming Patrick to the Joseph Ash Group.

Great to have you with us Patrick!

You can reach Patrick on 01536 409818 or at patrickf@premiergalv.co.uk.

We’re pleased to announce that Daniel Lyons has recently joined our Joseph Ash Medway plant.

With 15 years experience in Sales, Business Development and Customer Service, Dan brings a huge amount of customer service experience to the team.

We asked Dan what drew him to Joseph Ash Galvanizing. He said: “The chance to work for a market leading steel galvanizing company and manage and develop an already successful sales team was too good an opportunity to miss. I am a highly motivated and experienced Senior Manager who believes in providing a quality service environment, and I’m confident my inter-transferable skills from working in different sales environments puts me in good stead for this role.”

Dan is a keen football and rugby player and enjoys spending time with his family.

Welcome to the team Dan!

If you can make it – we can galvanise it!

For the last two years, Godbold Blacksmiths has been exclusively sending projects to our Premier Galvanizing team for steel finishing.

The Hull plant has been the lucky recipient and it’s been an honour and a privilege to protect the steel produced by this amazing team of artists and makers.

About Godbold Blacksmiths Limited

Godbold Blacksmiths was set up in 1985 by James Godbold. Based in Whitby, North Yorkshire, it began with a few commissions and grew from there.

Fast forward 36 years and the Blacksmiths has a large workshop employing nine people, trained in both traditional skills and modern techniques.

The Company now produces everything from gates, railings, candlesticks, staircases, signs and sculptures – pieces which have often been inspired by the local scenery: the Yorkshire Moors and the rugged coastline. Hear more about this from James himself.

Hot dip galvanizing

As Godbold’s works with iron and steel, and metals need to be protected from the elements (to prevent against rust and corrosion), the Company sends their projects to Premier Galvanizing Hull for hot dip galvanizing.

Hot dip galvanizing is important because it provides a long-life, low-maintenance corrosion protection which safeguards steel from atmospheric attack.

Works of art

Over the last couple of years, the team at Hull have been proud to hot dip galvanize sculptures, gates, railings, benches and even door handles on behalf of Godbold’s. They also treated the steel for the now famous Godbold Fin the Fish sculpture, which was used as an environmental awareness campaign by Yorkshire Water, Scarborough Council and the University of Hull in 2019.

Long may this partnership continue.

Here’s a snapshot of some of the projects we have worked on:

‘If you can draw it – we can make it’

When Godbold Blacksmiths receives a commission from a new customer, no job is too big or too small. In fact, their motto is ‘If you can draw it – we can make it’.

Because the Hull plant is proud to hot dip galvanize for this talented team, their response is: ‘If you can make it – we can galvanize it.’

Find out more:

To read more about Godbold Blacksmiths, visit their website or view their social profiles (Instagram and facebook).

In December 2020 (including throughout the Christmas period), the Joseph Ash Chesterfield plant underwent a series of major improvements that has helped the plant to get off to a flying start in 2021. The following works took place which will provide huge improvements to Joseph Ash employees and customers alike:

• The 40 year old concrete in the road at the main gate was replaced, making the surface smoother for visitors
• A new entrance and exit gate was installed to improve traffic flow around the site
• We also installed two new overhead cranes
• We carried out a series of total preventative maintenance projects to keep the site running smoothly and efficiently
• Finally, the whole of the inside of the plant was repainted, making it clean and fresh for the New Year!

If you’re a regular customer of our Chesterfield plant, we hope you find these improvements beneficial to the services we provide to you. Do let us know if you have any feedback, or you think there are any other improvements we could make that could make your lives easier when you visit the plant.

We’re pleased to announce FORS renewal for Joseph Ash Medway, having once again met the bronze level requirements of the Fleet Operator Recognition Scheme (FORS).

The Fleet Operator Recognition Scheme (FORS) is a voluntary scheme that covers all aspects of vehicle emissions, fuel efficiency, economical operations and safety.

FORS enables vehicle operators to know they are helping to increase efficiency, win work, and reduce costs. It also provides peace of mind to vehicle operators that legislative requirements are being met. Finally, it enables operators to know they are becoming safer and greener.

Joseph Ash Galvanizing Medway was first awarded the bronze certificate for FORS in 2016.

Thank you to FORS for assessing us. Thank you also to the team at Medway who worked hard to receive the award.

To the external eye these photos may simply look like a vast expanse of concrete… To us however, they’re a thing of beauty as they represent a safer, more comfortable loading and unloading environment for our team members and customers. Welcome to the new yard at Joseph Ash Walsall!

2018 was an extremely busy year for Joseph Ash Walsall, and the yard was beginning to look tired, in poor condition, with pot holes appearing at regular intervals. With concerns that the holes were going to be a safety hazard we decided to use the excellent services of TG Beighton to re-concrete the 1,000 Squares metres of yard.

TG Beighton are external contractors, based in Chesterfield, who previously worked on our plant extension, and we knew they’d have the skills, experience and safety standards to provide a quality service, whilst being able to stick to a very tight deadline of just three weeks.

Three weeks in and the project was a success, and we now have more space in the yard, as well as a safer environment.

Investment in our Joseph Ash plants is crucial to maintaining our position as a leader in the UK galvanizing industry, so the replacement of the concrete was a good chance to improve other aspects of the Walsall plant at the same time:

• We also installed improved lighting around the yard, as well as new crash barriers and fencing throughout the perimeter for added security and protection.
• We added a new drainage system to prevent standing water, and improved drainage in and around the area, with a chamber being installed around the yard for underground electrical cables.

Finally, with the addition of a new galvanizing bath in late 2018 too, we have a plant we can feel very proud of.

With the first quarter of 2019 well underway, the investment we’ve made has allowed us to work even safer than before, allowing safe access and egress from the area at all times. Our employees and customers also benefit from the extra safety and security when either working on or visiting the plant. We also believe we have increased the capacity of this site which is also beneficial for storing fabrications and completing even more work in 2019.

Joseph Ash Walsall has recently had a new galvanizing bath installed at the plant to replace the previous kettle. 

The new Pillings Kettle bath is 60mm in thickness – 10mm thicker than the previous bath – which should give the plant an extra 2-3 years on top of its normal longevity.

A new kettle is a large investment, so it’s good to be able to demonstrate our commitment to our employees, to show that we’re in this business for the long-haul, thereby providing the job security they deserve, as well as confirming that we are able to make the necessary investments to ensure a safe, lasting operation for years to come. 

The installation

Whilst all Joseph Ash Galvanizing plants normally close down at Christmas to give team members a well-earned break during the festive period, Joseph Ash Walsall employees continued to work to manage the installation of the new bath. Team members – including the Walsall team, Protherm, Zinco and Julian Cox – worked tirelessly throughout the Christmas break to ensure the project was a success.

Charlie Singh, Walsall Divisional Manager said: “The timescale was short and demanding for all concerned, but with all the necessary logistical efforts being planned down to a tee, the team were able to ensure that project was completed on time, and the plant was able to open for business as usual on 2nd January. This lives up to our values, promises and commitment to our customers, demonstrating that we can provide a service all year round!”

Well done to the team at Walsall for making this happen. An amazing effort!

Here are some photos of the bath installation. You can see more on our Facebook account.