“On 21st September a crack aggregate unit was sent to work by their employer for a crime they didn’t commit. These men promptly escaped from a maximum security stockade to the Midlands underground.
Today, still wanted by CEMEX, they survive as soldiers of fortune. If you have a problem, if no one else can help and if you can find them (commercial normally in Costa Coffee with customers of course!!! Ops normally in the canteen with a brew on!), maybe you can hire, the A*-Team!!!!! (*A=aggregate).”
With these immortal words, Stuart Wood started his report on the Midlands Aggs Team’s Lend-A-Hand day read on to find out more. (We will leave you to work out who is Hannibal Smith, BA Barracas, Mad Murdoch and ‘the Face’ from the photo?!)
“OK, so we’re not quite the A Team and our day wasn’t as exciting as flying in helicopters or driving heavily armoured vehicles through piles of cardboard boxes, but on the 21st September a mix of Aggregates Midlands Commercial and Operations Team took part in what was to become a challenging but rewarding Lend-A-Hand day.
NNWEC is a riding school which offers riding or horse therapy to disabled people within Warwickshire. It helps build self-confidence and gives them an enjoyable day out and their carers a well-deserved break to put their feet up and have a well-earned brew and a chat.
A long stretch of fence (30-40m) had been pushed against by horses being fed grass by the general public, so much that the fence was at a 45 degree angle and ready to break at any point and potentially let the horses loose onto playing fields. The task was to demolish the old fence, construct a new fence for the horses, then put in a second fence to keep the public away from the horses and avoid the animals being fed something they shouldn’t eat and discourage the animals from pushing against the fence. The charity then plan to plant a hedgerow in between to prevent this happening furthermore.
The day started at 8.15am (Commercial were there earlier than Operations – as usual!!!!), but in their defence the Ops guys had further to come and more kit in tow. We took a good 30 minutes to walk the site, go through CEMEX’s standard health & safety procedures and risk assess the day’s work. We then got to business! Phil Hiden and Simon Cooke did an amazing job with the post hole borer (not an easy task!) while the rest of us started dismantling the old fence. The first row of fence went in at a slow pace as the posts were large and required a lot of labour. Apart from one tough section we were finished the first row by lunch.
On the afternoon shift we became a well-oiled machine! Everyone knew what they were doing and the second row went up at quite a pace. The job was complete by 3.30pm and the horses were back in the paddock moments after the last tool was taken back to the van. Sandra Haddon (owner) was over the moon at a job well done.
The last few pieces of rubbish were put in the skip and the Ops guys shut their vans for the journey home. The Commercial Team walked back to their cars before complaining how much their hands and muscles hurt! (out of earshot of Operations of course!!).”