March 2012

Council calls on Elite Precast Concrete for speedy solution

Elite Precast Concrete has helped one local authority replace its waste storage bays in just a week after a move to an innovative new system.

Oadby and Wigston Borough Council in Leicestershire has called upon the services of the Telford-based concrete company to help replace and upgrade its waste segregation and storage units at its recycling depot in Oadby.

The council has used 250 of Elite Precast Concrete’s V interlocking blocks, which link together along the base, sides, and top to form a particularly stable structure, to create two storage bays measuring 6 metres wide by 20 metres deep that are being used to segregate recycling before it is processed.

“The council’s previous storage bays consisted of A-shaped precast concrete blocks, which – even though they did the job to an adequate standard – were neither large nor durable enough to provide optimum performance in such a harsh environment, especially as the council has plans to extend its waste management site in the not too distant future,” Owen Batham, Sales and Marketing Director of Elite Precast Concrete, explained.

Karen Parkes, Acting Waste Management Officer at Oadby and Wigston Borough Council, oversaw the entire project, from the initial enquiry through to final installation, in just three weeks. She commented: “The V blocks can be stacked higher to give us additional storage capacity, and because of the interlocking aspect, offer an extremely robust and sturdy solution.

“As the blocks are incredibly simple to slot together using only a forklift, we were able to carry out the entire installation in under a week, eliminating the need for us to bring in external contractors at additional cost. And of course, they can also easily be reconfigured to create storage spaces of various sizes, depending on the dimensions we require.”

The local authority, which currently processes approximately 3,000 tonnes of recycling at the site annually, is aiming to expand its waste management and recycling facilities over the coming months, and will again be calling on Elite Precast Concrete’s V interlocking blocks to provide easily installable storage bays.

Founded in 2008 by a team with more than 40 years industry experience, Shropshire-based Elite Precast Concrete Limited is the UK market leader in manufacturing and supplying interlocking and ‘V’ interlocking precast concrete blocks. By adopting an innovative and forward-thinking approach, both in its production processes and sales and marketing strategy, the company’s precast concrete products are now used by a wide range of UK and international clients including local authorities, recycling businesses, and waste management firms, to build durable waste storage bays. The blocks are also heavily used in industries such as outdoor hospitality, transport, and construction, where they are utilised as kentledge – a form of temporary counterweight – to hold scaffolding, security fencing, and marquees in place.