Aggregate Industries, leading manufacturer of materials for the construction and infrastructure sectors, is celebrating after its Rail Activities team received two awards at this year’s prestigious Rail Freight Group Awards.
The team, represented on the night by Simon Blake, general manager for rail in the Midlands, was selected as the runner up in the category of ‘Environmental Innovation’ for delivering a complex backhaul project during the remediation of an Aggregate Industries processing site in West Drayton.
The second award went to the company’s Director for rail in the South East, Mark Willshee, who was presented with the highly coveted ‘Outstanding Contribution’ title. Mark’s award was in recognition of his commitment to establishing railfreight as a key part of the supply chain for construction materials and the development of the Rail Freight Services business to provide services across the rail freight sector.
Simon Blake, who nominated Mark for his award, comments on the wins:
“Being recognised by the RFG for our continued efforts into pioneering new ways of improving our business through rail freight is a great achievement for Aggregate Industries.
“The level of professional expertise showcased during the awards ceremony was inspiring and we would like to extend our congratulations to the other winners.”
The backhaul project, which came highly commended by the judges, was a particularly strong achievement for everyone involved. With a time critical programme to adhere to, the backhaul resulted in a cumulative 80kt of rail movements being interwoven to remove waste materials from the company’s decommissioned West Drayton site – replacing it with materials for the remediation.
Simon adds: “We created seven new rail flows in an intense period of operation prior to the site’s handover at the end of 2014.”
Mark Willshee was understandably thrilled to be presented with the Outstanding Contribution award after being kept in the dark about his nomination until the shortlist was announced.
“I had no idea that Simon had put me forward for the award, and it was a really special moment to have my work recognised by the RFG and my industry peers.”
Aggregate Industries continues to implement new and improved rail freight solutions throughout its network of quarries and processing plants, with 20 plus rail heads currently in operation throughout the UK.
For more information visit www.aggregate.com .
About Aggregate Industries
Aggregate Industries is a leading player in the construction and infrastructure industries. It produces and supplies a wide range of construction materials including aggregates, asphalt, ready-mixed concrete and precast concrete products. It also produces, imports and supplies cementitious materials and offers a national road surfacing and contracting service.
It prides itself on best practice in sustainability having become the first company to be certificated to BES 6001, The Framework Standard for the Responsible Sourcing of Construction Products, developed by the BRE (Building Research Establishment) and a founding member of the UK Green Building Council. Aggregate Industries is a proud member of the LafargeHolcim Group.
More information is available on www.aggregate.com