reidsteel

About reidsteel

This author has not yet filled in any details.
So far reidsteel has created 69 blog entries.
1 11, 2013

REIDsteel in the International Business Community

2017-01-06T14:31:50+00:00November 1st, 2013|Categories: REIDsteel Staff|Tags: , , , , , |

At REIDsteel, we pride ourselves on the relationships we build with individuals, businesses and organisations across the world. So when our Sales Manager, Mike Chappell bumped into Richard Pelly, Director General of British Expertise he found himself heading to Burma (Myanmar) on one of REIDsteel’s more intriguing trade missions.

British Expertise is an independent, not for profit company who have a close relationship with the government funded UK Trade and Investment (UKTI). They work to forge links between businesses and international embassies and commercial offices in order to better assist export opportunities.

Burma (Myanmar), as the media readily reports has long had its struggles and human rights issues. It is in the process of change that everyone hopes will be for the better. The recent trade mission consisted of a schedule of meetings and events where contact was made with local businesses and ministries who were pleased to share their views of the market and potential for future growth.

Huge challenges lie ahead for all involved, but REIDsteel are pleased to have put their name out there. “We know we are good at working in difficult and growing […]

22 10, 2013

REIDsteel in Nepal

2017-01-06T14:31:50+00:00October 22nd, 2013|Categories: Steel Bridges|Tags: , , , |


Home to the highest point on earth, Mount Everest and the birthplace of Gautam Buddha, Nepal is an ancient and beautiful country.

Today, its people are looking to the future – The UK is helping by providing aid from the Department for International Development (DFID) and working with IMC Worldwide to support the Nepalese people in gaining reliable infrastructure.

The work is coordinated by Tim Stiff, of ICMW, acting as Team Leader for the Rural Access Programme, RAP2, and reporting back to the British government.

The only way for the country to advance and eliminate rural poverty is to build roads and bridges. Nepal’s total road network and density are low and only 43% of the population has access to all-weather roads.

As part of the Worldbank’s Road Sector Development Project (RSDP), REIDsteel had been asked to design, manufacture and erect three bridges; the Piluwah Khola, Sabu Khola and Arun Khola. In Nepali, ‘Khola’ means stream, which does not quite translate as the smallest of these bridges was 96m long!

The first two […]

7 10, 2013

REIDmarine at the 2013 PSP Southampton Boat Show

2017-01-06T14:31:50+00:00October 7th, 2013|Categories: REIDmarine|Tags: , |

REIDMarine are pleased to announce the conclusion of a very successful Southampton Boat Show, with a general air of positivity within the marine industry our order books are looking strong for 2014.

The 45th Southampton Boat Show took place from the 13th September through to the 22nd. Although the weather was mixed it was great to see a combination of new faces and some old friends enjoying the various activities.

From having a go at Paddle Boarding to admiring the Bessie Ellen, one of the last surviving West Country trading ketches.

We even caught a glimpse of Top Gear’s Richard Hammond launching one of the new model motor boats.

For the past 20 years REIDmarine have exhibited at both the Southampton Boat Show and London Boat Show.

This year, we were one of more than 600 exhibitors, from 22 countries around the world, exhibiting a fascinating range of wares and knowledge. More than 110, 000 visitors turned up over the course of the show to get involved with sailing and other water-based opportunities.

For those who missed the […]

3 10, 2013

REIDsteel at the Olympics

2017-01-06T14:31:50+00:00October 3rd, 2013|Categories: Resilient Structures|Tags: , , , |

By Sales Engineer, Toby Hill-Cousins

The nation took great pride in the success of 2012 Olympic Games, and REIDsteel were no different.

With fear before the games commenced that the huge crowds would draw a great terrorist threat to both the capital and the cities and towns throughout the UK holding events, it was imperative that security was top priority and that our nation was protected from any potential disasters.

Extensive testing has been carried out and gates have been approved and tested to BSI PAS 68.

The systems were originally designed for military use but this low cost system which does not require any foundation works has been deployed around airports, sporting events energy facilities and commercial facilities across the UK.

REIDsteel are proud to have played a large part in the security of the millions of people who attended events throughout the UK with our patented Dragons teeth and bollard type gates.

We supplied 51 gates from Weymouth to Newcastle to the perimeter of stadiums and arenas to eliminate any threat from a terrorist vehicle with on board explosives.

Working alongside […]

30 09, 2013

From Draughtsman to Triathlete

2017-01-06T14:31:50+00:00September 30th, 2013|Categories: REIDsteel Staff|Tags: , |

Tony Rendall has been a draughtsman at REIDsteel for fifteen years. In his free time he is a keen triathlete having competed in many events over the years.

We offer our sincere congratulations to him, as he recently came 15th at the 2013 Triathlon World Championships in London. Here’s what he has to say about his triathlon training and experiences:

“I race at Olympic distance and Sprint distance Triathlon events in the UK and abroad. For the Olympic distance these consist of a 1500m swim, followed by a 40km cycle, and finish with a 10km run and take around 2 hours to complete.

The Sprint races cover half of these distances but are run at a very fast pace (virtually flat out) so are just as hard.

I usually train in excess of 10 hours a week including double sessions before and after work to keep me competitive and near the front end of the field.

I have represented Great Britain at the last two age group World Championship grand finals in New Zealand and London, and also at this year’s European Championship finals in Turkey.

New Zealand 2012 was my first […]

3 09, 2013

Summer at REIDsteel

2017-01-06T14:31:50+00:00September 3rd, 2013|Categories: REIDmarine|Tags: , , , |

This year was the 50th annual fundraiser for the Mudeford RNLI lifeboat crew, with more people than ever before turning out to enjoy the faire and watch the spectacular Raft Race.

Entering crews throw on fetching fancy dress and set sail on an equally fashionable raft to raise money for Mudeford RNLI station. Among others, there were teams representing Highcliffe Charity Players, Priory Vet Group and of course, REIDsteel.

July 2013 marked the sixth time that REIDsteel have entered the infamous Mudeford Raft Race. Confidence was high leading up to the event having previously won three times in succession.

To recognise the outstanding achievement by Andy Murray at this year’s Wimbledon Tournament it was decided amongst the crew that Tennis would be the theme for this year’s raft, many thanks go to Paul at Solo Signs for donating his time and logo’s to help theme this year’s raft.

As REIDsteel is situated in a coastal town, many of its employees sail or enjoy a keen interest in boating. This involvement in the marine industry has enabled the REIDsteel crew to raise the most sponsorship of all teams participating […]

7 06, 2013

REIDsteel Helps New Forest Ice Cream Structure for Growth

2017-01-06T14:31:50+00:00June 7th, 2013|Categories: News|Tags: , |

newforesticecream-news02New Forest Ice Cream, one of the UK’s fastest expanding ice cream brands, is celebrating production starting in its brand new purpose built Lymington headquarters that was designed in close conjunction with Christchurch-based REIDsteel.

A family firm launched 30 years ago that now supplies over 2,500 outlets across the UK, New Forest Ice Cream was approached by REIDsteel when it outgrew its old premises and was struggling to find a suitable new building in the New Forest area.

newforesticecream-news01The new 2,000m² premises provide state of the art ice cream production facilities plus bright and modern office space. A dominating feature of the new building is the giant freezer which occupies around one third of the internal footprint of the new building.

REIDsteel worked closely with the family throughout the design and build process, to deliver a tailor-made structure that provides the company with the perfect facilities for their expanding business.

The structure’s clad envelope consists of three different types of steel based cladding systems.

The roof is clad in a Kingspan insulated composite panel system, which is ideal for this type of building as it […]

7 06, 2013

Music to our Ears

2017-01-06T14:31:50+00:00June 7th, 2013|Categories: Aircraft Hangars & Doors|


By Sales Engineer, Richard Hanson

In 2011 we completed the structural work on the magnificent 13,000sq m hangar and terminal at Biggin Hill Airport on behalf of Rizon Jets. It’s a beautiful building of which we’re all really proud.

The hangar is designed to house Rizon’s private and business hire fleet so we were all surprised and delighted to discover that it was the venue for a very special music event last week.

Following a day of broadcasting from Biggin Hill to mark the 70th anniversary of the Dambusters Raid, BBC Radio 2’s Dermot O’Leary and Jeremy Vine presented a very special Friday Night is Music Night programme live from the hangar.

The amazing story of the raid, which saw 19 Lancaster Bombers, each carrying the ‘Bouncing Bomb’ take off from Lincolnshire to destroy the Ruhr Valley dams was re-told with music from the BBC Concert Orchestra and the Central Band of the RAF.

As well as the music, the story was dramatised and had special messages from veterans and Barnes Wallis’ […]

21 05, 2013

Slow boat to China

2017-01-06T14:31:50+00:00May 21st, 2013|Categories: REIDsteel Staff|Tags: , , , |

Shipping a small parcel abroad is enough to cause me to have a headache so sending massive steel structures, like aircraft hangars and bridges from a small town in Dorset to 130 countries worldwide must surely be enough to cause the mother of all migraines.

To find out just how difficult a job this is I had a chat with Ana Monti, REIDsteel’s Despatch and Shipping Manager.

In the five years that Ana’s been with the company she has shipped hundreds of hangars, bridges, office buildings and warehouses to places as far flung as Mongolia, Nepal and the Falkland Islands.

Ana maintains (although I’m not sure I believe her) that it’s not particularly difficult to organise the shipping, as long as you don’t mind filling in reams of paperwork, but there can be unexpected pitfalls.

Two of the main problems in recent years have been the slow-down in the economy and the fluctuating cost of fuel. The economic situation has meant quite a few shipping companies have gone out of business.

Of those that remain, rather than put the price up to customers some control their fuel costs by […]

21 05, 2013

Britain’s Steel Experts Build Bridges for Nepal’s Financial Growth

2017-01-06T14:31:50+00:00May 21st, 2013|Categories: News|Tags: , , , , |

Sabha Kholanews01Slow growth in Nepal’s exports and difficulty moving home-grown agricultural products around the country to reduce dependence on imports are getting a boost from steel bridges that are designed and built in the UK.

Helped by £3 million of funding from the British government, through the Department for International Development’s (DFID) Rural Access Programme (RAP), REIDsteel of Christchurch, Dorset was appointed by local contractor Kalika of Khatmandu to construct a 120m steel span bridge to open up access between Khandbari and Chainpur and boost trade across the Sabha Khola river.

Sabha Kholanews02The bridge links Sankhuwasabha with the national road network and has the potential to transform the lives of 800,000 people – The river runs through the Arun Valley, one of the deepest in the world at 300-435 metres.

Without a bridge the people of the region faced extreme difficulties crossing from one side to the other. During the monsoon season boats would regularly capsize, putting lives and cargo in peril.

Building a bridge in such a remote region is easier said than done. Road access was little more than mud tracks in places and […]

9 05, 2013

Tragedy Highlights Perils of Overloading Buildings

2017-01-06T14:31:50+00:00May 9th, 2013|Categories: Factory Buildings|Tags: , |

By Technical Director, Rollo Reid

Dhaka_Savar_Building_CollapseLatest reports about the Bangladesh building collapse announce that 800 people are now believed to have been killed by this terrible event.

The scale of this tragedy is enormous and my heart goes out to the families and friends of all those who lost their lives.

I feel particular sadness because building safe, strong structures is something I’m passionate about. It seems to me there are two main reasons why this tragedy occurred.

The first is because it appears that extra floors were added on top of the original and industrial companies were allowed to set up factory equipment in a structure that was only ever designed for commercial use, housing office workers and light equipment.

The extra weight of the additional floors, the heavy factory machines and power generators that were positioned on the roof all proved too much for the fabric of the building to bear, resulting in a catastrophic collapse.

The second reason this collapse was so disastrous is, I believe, because buildings in this part of the world tend to be constructed without a strong core framework made of either steel or concrete.

If this […]

9 05, 2013

From the Outside in

2017-01-06T14:31:51+00:00May 9th, 2013|Categories: REIDsteel Staff|Tags: , , , |

Alan Newman, REIDsteel’s Safety Advisor

REIDsteel has been designing and building structures around the world for almost 100 years but what sort of a company is it and who are the people that make it happen?

To find out I’ve been given unique access behind-the-scenes and I plan to share what I discover so you too can get an insight into what makes this company tick.

Before I do anything else I have to have a tour of the site and a health and safety briefing from Alan Newman, REID’s Safety Advisor. Alan has been with Reid for 24 years, having started in the maintenance department.

With so much heavy steel and cutting, lifting and finishing equipment on site, safety has always been a priority for the company. However, in recent years the image of health and safety has suffered and BBC One’s The Wright Way, a sitcom written by comedian Ben Elton, hasn’t done anything to improve it.

Alan is pretty sanguine about this. He knows people might raise their eyes to heaven when he has to pick them up on a point […]

17 01, 2013

Hornsey Water Treatment Works (WTW)

2017-01-06T14:31:51+00:00January 17th, 2013|Categories: Waste Management|

During 2000 Thames Water established the aquifer supplying the plant sand filters treating water had become blocked and were running slow.

It was established that this was being caused by algal blooms, which were ultimately causing production to be impacted.

The Granular Activated Carbon (GAC) process was selected as the best treatment process and to complement this a 50Ml/d pre-treatment works was also constructed which would allow for the eventual removal of the slow sand filters.

The treatment works comprised of a dissolved air flotation and rapid gravity filter process. Treatment processes include:

–          Raw Water Abstraction

–          Coagulant and pH Correction (Acid) Dosing

–          Coagulation/Flocculation/DAF

–          pH Correction (Caustic Dosing)

–          Rapid Gravity Filtration

–          GAC

–          Disinfection

–          High Lift Pumping

The plant is able to deal with any algal blooms more effectively and also reduce ongoing operation and maintenance costs.

The four REIDsteel buildings which provide cover to these processes had to be of high Architectural value given that the site is located across the valley from Alexandra Palace.  Planning Permission was therefore a very long, drawn out, affair which meant that the plant became operational in 2008.

[…]

Go to Top