A double dip for a Kent based swimming pool
The galvanizing project
Galvanizing 68 steel beams for a Kent-based residential swimming pool.
The challenge
Steelo is a structural steel fabrication company based in Hounslow. Originally set up as a one-man venture in Isleworth by founder Michael Krajewski, the company has grown in size to over 20 people with a 12,000 square foot plant near Heathrow.
The company fabricates everything from beams to frames to posts and regularly uses Premier Galvanizing to protect the steel with a hot dip galvanized finish.
Steelo was recently involved in a project to provide steel beams for a swimming pool, as part of a residential property in Bromley. The property – called Woodlands – is a mansion being built in the Neo-Palladian style, with stunning landscaped gardens. With three floors, plus a basement, the impressive property includes seven bedrooms, a cinema, a grand staircase, a bar, a gym, family rooms, underground car parking with a car lift, and a library.
The builders for the project are the Mormac Group, and the architects are AV Architects.
Steelo was commissioned by the Mormac Group to fabricate 68 steel beams, with a tonnage of 5295kg. To protect the steel from erosion and rust, the beams had to be hot-dip galvanised and Steelo called in Premier Galvanizing to manage this part of the project.
As a keen supplier to Steelo, Premier Galvanizing was only too happy to take on the role. Team members from the Corby plant managed the galvanizing, as well collecting the steel from Steelo and delivering it back once it had been processed.
The end result
Magdalena Rajkowska, General Manager, from Steelo said: “It was a challenging project due to the number of beams involved in the pool build. We chose Premier Galvanizing as they always provide a quality galvanizing job for us and can manage the collection and delivery too – taking the admin out of some of the logistics.”
Rajkowska added: “Once the beams arrived back from Premier Galvanizing’s Corby plant, our design engineers marked the beams in order to help team members from the Mormac Group to identify them on site.”
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Time and Tide for Winter Lights, by Paul & Pute
Canary Wharf in London has been hosting a Winter Lights Festival for the public every January for the last five years. It is a magical event featuring beautiful light installations, which “draw upon state-of-the-art light technology to deliver spectacular artworks, installations and experiences – many of them interactive or responsive”[1]. This year’s event was special to the Premier Galvanizing, as it featured an installation hot dip galvanized by us.
The installation – called ‘Time and Tide’ – was designed by artists Paul & Pute. Paul (from Manchester) and Pute (from Bangkok) met whilst studying for their Masters in Sweden at a Technology College.
‘Time and Tide’ is a mixture of architectural and lighting skills, built using steel bases and a central pillar, plus paper drinking straws and UV light from three Chauvet Professional Colordash PAR H12IP wash fixtures.
Because the Winter Lights 2019 theme centred around sustainability and environmental issues, Paul & Pute wanted to design an installation which “celebrated the elegance of technology, [but] also served as a cautionary sign, reminding people to guard against its excesses. With an alluring shape evocative of an hour glass, the structure symbolised that the ecological timeclock is running out… [However] it also offered hope along with its solemn warning. The geometric web of strings that made up the structure’s surface was adorned with patterns created with paper drinking straws to remind people that there is an earth-friendly alternative to plastic models.” [1]
“The paper straws were also illuminated with UV light, giving them a vibrant glow, to symbolise how our planet can become more vital and alive when ecological balance is restored.”[2]
A13 Steel Ltd and Premier Galvanizing
‘Time and Tide’s’ steel bases and pillar were fabricated by A13 Steel Ltd, using designs supplied by Paul & Pute. Each base was about 2-2.5m in diameter and the central pillar was about 4m high.
To protect the steel bases A13 Steel Ltd asked Premier Galvanizing Corby to galvanize the steel. Galvanizing is important for steel because it provides a long-life, low-maintenance corrosion protection which safeguards steel from atmospheric attack.
A13 Steel Ltd have been a good customer of Premier Galvanizing Corby for a number of years, and regularly ask the team members there to treat their steel.
Premier Galvanizing Corby also managed the collection and delivery of the steel on behalf of A13 Steel Ltd.
Here are some photos of the steel being galvanized at the Premier Galvanizing plant, and at its final destination as part of the complete installation.
John Frankland, Sales Manager at Premier Galvanizing said: “Once the project was complete and the lighting festival was underway, I was lucky to be able to visit London and see the installation amongst all the other stunning works of art scattered throughout Canary Wharf. We’re always happy to work on projects for A13 Steel Ltd, and we were particularly thrilled to be a part of this project.”
To see more photos of the ‘Time and Tide’ – whilst being galvanized and at its final destination in Canary Wharf – click here.
[1] Winter Lights Festival website: https://canarywharf.com/arts-events/events/winter-lights-2019/?instance_id=
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The residents of Oakley Vale, in Corby have just unveiled new works of art by sculptor Richard Janes, as part of a ‘Made in Corby’ scheme to bring art to the masses. Premier Galvanizing Corby was proud to play a part by galvanizing the steel.
‘Made in Corby’ is an exciting organisation that recognises and draws inspiration from the identity and reputation of Corby. As part of a national Creative People and Places network, funded by the Arts Council of England, its aim is to inspire local people from Corby to take the lead in experiencing, creating and taking part in high quality arts and cultural activities. With this in mind, ‘Made in Corby’ created an ambitious and exciting three-year programme, involving local residents, to install sculptural works of art at Oakley Vale, a 436-acre housing development situated in the South West of Corby.
‘Made in Corby’ encouraged local people from Oakley Vale to get involved, right from the start, in commissioning the works of art. An enthusiastic panel of residents from Oakley Vale Community Association volunteered and went through a process of deciding what would be right for the community. They took part in workshops, they ran design workshops for local children to take part in the process, and they even went on a road trip to London to see various pieces of sculptural art as part of an inspirational exercise.
The next step was to choose the artist. Under the ‘Made in Corby’ banner, it had to be someone local and gifted, and sculptor Richard Janes, was chosen.
Richard Janes is an artist who specialises in designing and fabricating sculpture and applied sculptural artworks which are created and sited across the UK and internationally. Richard’s work includes commissions from public, corporate and private clients. He was happy to take part in the ‘Made in Corby’ project and he set to work designing three pieces of sculpture, taking inspiration from the local surroundings, the oak forest that was originally on the site of the new housing development, as well as the existing wildlife and the industry that is still alive in the town:
Richard Janes explains his rationale for the designs in this video produced by ‘Made in Corby’ and HD Media CIC.
The children at the local community centre also had a hand in the design which reflects the local wildlife of the area.
Richard Janes and Premier Galvanizing Corby
The sculptures designed and fabricated by Richard Janes are primarily made from steel. As steel corrodes and rusts over time, it needs to be protected with a hot dip galvanized coating. Premier Galvanizing Corby was chosen to provide this service.
The steel was delivered to the Corby plant and representatives from ‘Made in Corby’, alongside Richard Janes, were invited to the galvanizing plant to see the metal treatment in action, and so that they could film the processes as part of their video diaries.
Richard Janes describes the hot dip galvanizing process in the video:
“The galvanizing is [necessary] to make the sculpture last much longer. The galvanising is 130 microns thick, which will provide more than 60-70 years before the sculptures need treating again. The galvanizing is also important as it reflects Corby’s industry, an industry that is still alive in the town.
Step one is the pickling process which removes the mill scale and any deposits that are on the steel, so that the zinc can adhere to the sculpture. After pickling, step two happens, where the steel is put into a flux bath which allows the zinc to run all over the steel very quickly, creating an even coating. Then – step three – the steel is dipped into the zinc bath at 450 degrees, and it emerges looking all silver and magical. Finally, it is dipped into a cleaning bath which puts a film on the surface which gives the surface greater longevity.
Seeing it rise out of the zinc tank is magical. It brings the creative idea into a reality.”
You can watch the full video here.
The culmination of the project
The ‘Made in Corby’ project was a great success and everyone was happy to play their part, from the local community, to the sculptor, to Premier Galvanizing, the Arts Council of England, and of course the people behind ‘Made in Corby’.
The three sculptures have been erected at Oakley Vale and the grand unveiling took place on Saturday 15 July. You can see some pictures on the ‘Made in Corby’ Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/MadeInCorby/. You can also watch a video of the unveiling here.
Helen Wilmott from ‘Made in Corby’ said it is a great way to give “local people a say about how public money is spent on art”.
Premier Galvanizing Corby said: “We were honoured to be chosen as the hot dip galvanizers for this wonderful project. We attended the unveiling on Saturday and the finished products look beautiful and amazing against the backdrop of Oakley Vale. Well done to everyone involved!”
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(The photos to the right show elements of the sculptures being galvanized at Premier Galvanizing.)
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Every four years, a city is chosen to hold a new title: ‘UK City of Culture’. The first winner of this title was Derry/Londonderry in 2013, and the second winner is Hull.
Hull won the competition and will hold the title throughout 2017. This is great news for the people of Hull, as well as all the local companies and organisations that form part of the City. Premier Galvanizing is one such company and we are proud supporters of this great place!
The UK City of Culture award is given to a City that demonstrates “the belief in the transformational power of culture”. To act upon this achievement the people of Hull will spend the next 12 months hosting a variety of events and occasions such as concerts, art exhibitions, plays, dance shows and film screenings. Thousands of people are going to take part, from school children, to volunteers, to local businesses and organisations. (Find out what’s on by visiting the Hull 2017 website.)
Premier Galvanizing Hull has also played a part by becoming a member of the Hull 2017 Business Club, formed in order to help raise the £18million needed for an entire year’s worth of cultural events.
Alex Camp, general manager at Premier Galvanizing Hull, said: “Premier Galvanizing is proud to be located in Hull and has always had a strong commitment to the area, employing local people and using local suppliers.
“The city is changing and we want to be part of its legacy for our employees, their families and the next generation, to feel as proud of Hull as we do.” (Hull Daily Mail)
As the year progresses we’ll report on all the great activities that will happen across this brilliant City, as well as our involvement in it.
Welcome to 2017! And welcome to Hull!
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What have Gary Lineker’s underwear, 15 trophies, and a sheet metal fabricator in Loughborough got in common?
2016 has seen some unprecedented activity regarding Leicester City Football Club: The Club itself won the Premier League beating odds of 5000-1 at the beginning of the season; Platinum Steelworks was asked to fabricate 15 3ft high replica trophies; and Gary Lineker presented Match of the Day in his underwear. As Lineker’s underwear has been covered enough (or maybe not…) in this past year, you’ll be thankful to know this article is going to talk about the trophies!
When Leicester City FC won the Premier League earlier this year almost 240,000 fans took to the streets of Leicester City, to celebrate the win. Fans were joyous because this wasn’t just the first time in history that the Club had won the League, but also the first time in a decade that the Club had even played in this League.
Around about this time, some fans based in Loughborough, who were so impressed with the win, decided to commission a local steel fabricator to make replica trophies of the Premier League Cup. Standard sized trophies would not be good enough however: The fans wanted 3ft high and 2ft wide Cups, and 15 of them! Platinum Steelworks was chosen for the work.
Platinum Steelworks is a Sheet Metal Contractor based in Loughborough. Run by Gurnam Singh the company usually fabricates barriers and gates, staircases and balustrades, and structural metal fabrications for buildings. The trophies were an unusual request, but Platinum Steelworks was up for the challenge.
As the trophies were made from steel, and steel needs to be protected from the environment with a hot dip galvanized coating, Premier Galvanizing Hull was also hired by Platinum Steelworks, and pulled onto the project.
Premier Galvanizing Hull have supplied Platinum Steelworks with galvanizing services for over 14 years.
A number of trophies have so far been fabricated and hot dip galvanized by Platinum Steelworks and Premier Galvanizing. And some Leicester City fans who have received them, have placed them in their gardens for passers-by to see.
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Tin Tommy sculpture, looking reflective at 2016 Remembrance Day Parade
On Sunday 13 November, the town of Immingham in North East Lincolnshire, held a Remembrance Day Parade at the Pelham Road War Memorial. The event was a fitting tribute to all soldiers who have lost their lives defending our country.
As part of the ceremony, a new statue stood at the War Memorial, leaning on a memorial seat covered in poppies. The statue was nicknamed Tin Tommy by local school children in the community, and he has become so popular that he even has his own Facebook page.
Tin Tommy was commissioned by the Barton Living Memorial Trust, who raised funds from the local council and communities. The aim of the Trust is “to educate the next generation about the World Wars and the sacrifices that so many made, and to keep the memory alive“.
When standing straight, Tin Tommy is a full-sized six foot high statue of a WW1 era British soldier, with red poppies painted onto parts of his frame. The bench that he leans upon has been designed to allow people to sit and “reflect on life, history and memory“.
Tin Tommy was fabricated by Hodson & Kauss, and hot dip galvanized by Premier Galvanizing Hull.
Hodson & Kauss are expert fabricators who mainly fabricate bridges, walkways, fencing, staircases, and balustrades. Sometimes they are asked to fabricate unusal items such as Tin Tommy too. Hodson & Kauss have been using Premier Galvanizing Hull for all their galvanizing needs, for a long time. Premier Galvanizing are proud to have played a part in the construction of such an important statue.
(More photos of Tin Tommy can be found on the Joseph Ash Galvanizing Flickr site.)
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At Premier Galvanizing we know how important it is for our employees to understand the needs of our customers first hand. We have therefore made a commitment that all of our employees across our departments will visit a customer.
By making this commitment our employees get the opportunity to understand what the customer really requires from a galvanizer. It is also a great opportunity to put names to faces too. We have always been proud of the personal relationships that we forge with our clients – this is a great way to truly personalise our service even further.
An additional benefit for our customers is that the our employees gain association and ownership of the products we will be hot dip galvanizing. We have found that these visits also ensure our people feel responsible for the final product produced.
Blueline Trailers, near Boston Lincolnshire
Members of our team recently visited Blueline Trailers so as to gain a better understanding of their business and the products they produce. The visit lasted around half an hour with our team having the chance to understand why the trailers needed stacking in a certain way.
It’s only by visiting the customer that our employee got the chance to understand the potential problems that poor stacking could have in the assembly process.
Want to arrange a visit?
If you feel your company would benefit from a visit from one of our operatives please feel free to contact Bob Preston on bob@premiergalv.co.uk
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Following what was an incredible three days of Tour de France action in July a renowned sculptor in the North East was asked to manufacture an individual piece to mark this prestigious event.
Before this fabulous cycling sculpture was hot dip galvanized a detailed pre galv inspection took place to ensure its suitability for galvanizing, with lots of tubes and hollow section within the structure it was essential that all the vent or drain holes were in the correct place, which they were.
The sculptor had the foresight to call and request a representative from Premier Galvanizing to call in and inspect the cyclist before having the item collected.
By ensuring that all the holes were in the correct place not only was it safe to galvanize it ensured that the finish complimented the hardwork and dedication it had taken to create the structure in the first place.
The nature of the fabrication dictated that a team would be required to hot fettle the item as it is being removed from the bath, the dedicated operatives from Premier Galvanizing are used to dealing with such items as we have an unrivalled reputation for taking care with these intricate fabrications.
Once galvanized there last stage of the process was to deliver the item back on our collection and delivery service.
With high value items such as these it is natural for customers to worry about the possibility of damage before, during and after galvanizing especially in transit. As can be seen with the photograph with the sculpture on the lorry the customer had nothing to worry about.
Premier Galvanizing are immensely proud to have been chosen and trusted to galvanize this sculpture.
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We were recently asked to hot dip galvanize, on behalf of Pro-Dek Storage, 160 tonnes of steel racking to support cars for the vehicle salvage industry, to provide a long lasting, maintenance free racking system.
The challenge
With any type of racking system whether it is a simple pallet system or an industrial one such as the one used by the vehicle salvage industry the importance of fit is paramount. Although the steel is mainly straight lengths and reasonably simple to galvanize the end plates on the arms need to be clean in order to achieve a flush fit against the main member of the racking system. In order to achieve the best possible finish the arms were all hung on 2 points at 45 degrees to ensure that the end plates would fit flush and speed up the erection process.
The end client was keen to have the 160 tonne of racking erected within 8 weeks, this meant Premier Galvanizing supplied an article, collected it from the fabricator on the Monday and delivered to site on the Friday.
Throughout the project there were no late deliveries and no missing items.
The end result
The racking was supplied to site on time and erected on time to the clients specifications, providing an easily accessible racking system, which has lead to further orders.
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With the Sky Cameras rolling into Blackpool FC on Sunday 17 October for their match against Manchester City it was evident that the lighting from the present floodlights would not be sufficient for the game to be screened in HD. New lighting columns would need to be installed otherwise the coverage could have been in jeopardy.
The challenge
Approximately two weeks before the erection date ASG Fabrications in Batley received an order to fabricate, hot dip galvanize, deliver, erect and install the six new lighting columns. Due to the layout of the ground there wasn’t room for traditional stadium lighting, the six new columns were to be placed on the temporary stand that was erected in the summer following their shock promotion to the Premiership.
The schedule placed upon ASG resulted in Premier Galvanizing needing to hot dip galvanize all six columns within 24hrs. Unfortunately these were not a standard dip as they were seven .6m long and the bath in Hull was only 7m long. Therefore Premier needed to double dip the columns. The end client was willing to accept the columns in self colour but ASG convinced them otherwise as they had full confidence in Premier Galvanizing meeting the tight schedule put upon them.
By convincing the end client to galvanize the columns as opposed to a single paint finish we have eliminated the need for an ongoing maintenance.
The end result
Between Wednesday 13 and Friday 15 October the columns were installed at Blackpool. The client has a maintenance free product, Blackpool has some new floodlights for their ground and Sky will have a game in HD on the Sunday.
ASG Fabrications comment: “With the help of Premier Galvanizing we have made a very important client very happy. We knew that the timescale was going to be tight for just the fabrication, erection and installation, but to get the hot dip galvanizing done as well was an added bonus. Premier Galvanizing made a commitment and as usual they delivered.”
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