On 12th March, our rail bearer facility at Somercotes was 20 years young.
The operations moved from Washwood Health, Birmingham in early 2003 and with the installation of all the equipment the first concrete was placed on 12th March which would see the beginning of a journey that has taken the facility to be the best in the market.
With the start of production at Somercotes the facility had two twin cell 50 metre moulds giving a maximum capacity of 38,000 metres of concrete bearers of only two different types. Today the facility has a maximum capacity of 95,625.
Terence Clair, S&C Business Manager, commented: “Over the 20 years Somercotes has gone from strength to strength not just in volume and product design but with its safety culture. I am immensely proud to have been a part of this journey, one that we can all be proud of. Somercotes and myself have been extremely lucky to have good people over the years that have shown the commitment the site demands. We have more than tripled our capacity but also we are now making other products for the rail infrastructure. The product design itself has become more complex with the implementation of many new designs…. I believe we have become customer centricity leaders with our ability to adapt to our customers’ needs offering solutions to each change with innovation and ensuring quality being one of our core attributes.”
Terence continues: “We have many long serving members of the team which have been key in our development, but two who did follow us to Somercotes from Birmingham and have been with us throughout our time at Somercotes are William Lewis (Bill) and Noel Gibbs. They have both contributed so much over the years and I deeply proud to have worked with them for over 20 years.”