News

According to Mind, a leading mental health charity, 1 in 6 workers are currently dealing with mental health problems such as anxiety, depression or stress. That is why at Armstrongs we have decided to act now and provide proactive mental wellbeing support through our TalkStrong Campaign.

TalkStrong

TalkStrong aims to open up the conversation of mental wellbeing, This is in order to: promote wellbeing for all staff, tackle the causes of work-related mental health problems and support staff who are experiencing mental health problems.

TalkStrong aims to support all of our colleagues across Armstrongs Group, from Aggregates to AMIX and from quarry to office. We want our colleagues to know that it’s okay to not be okay, we will always be here to listen.

However, TalkStrong is not just for our colleagues. TalkStrong is for everyone. We actively encourage extended family and our local community to get involved with our TalkStrong initiative. Every Thursday we take part in, and help run alongside Full Circle IT and Super Logo Boy, the #BoltonTweetUp.

#BoltonTweetUp

#BoltonTweetUp is a Twitter chat that takes place every Thursday between 3 and 4 PM. Where local Bolton businesses get together to discuss anything from the community to cooperative projects. The aim of the #BoltonTweetUp is to make local business more accessible for local people, and we are planning to bring our TalkStrong initiative to the twitter chats. Using the tag #TalkStrong and #BoltonTweetUp we aim to create a supportive network for not only our own colleagues but the wider community that we live and work in.

Mental Well-being In The Workplace

Did you know that 44 per cent of employers saw an increase in reported mental health problems in the last twelve months. As a result of this 40 per cent of employers reported an increase in staff sickness levels due to stress in the last twelve months.  By increasing our employee engagement with regards to mental well-being we are hoping to provide positive proactive support to our colleagues. In return we are aiming to harvest an open culture of candour that benefits the well-being of our workforce and community.

So What’s Next?

Join our Twitter chat on Thursdays between 3 and 4 PM here. Use the hashtags #BoltonTweetUp and #TalkStrong to join the conversation and join a supportive network of peers, colleagues and local Bolton businesses in supporting our #TalkStrong initiative.

Over the past months we have proactively improved ways in which you can reach us. You can contact us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and our Website. Including our new live chat feature on the bottom right of our website.

For more information about our TalkStrong campaign you can contact us here.

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Young people are becoming more and more distant from joining the working world. However I do not believe this is their fault; it just isn’t correctly targeting to them. That’s why we have created a campaign all about how Armstrongs can help the younger generation experience employment.

What is Experience Employment?

Experience Employment is a new campaign at Armstrongs Group, in which we hope to introduce young people to new opportunities. We want young people to learn about the working world, and get ahead of the curve. I aim to help young people to the open doors of Armstrongs and how they can widen their views of their futures.

Being a young person myself, I believe I will be able to connect to my audience in an effective way for both me and them. Also, I wish to make an impact on the community as well to spread this message to more and more young people, who may feel a sense of anxiety towards work.

The young people of today are sometimes looked at negatively in recent society and we think this is unfair. We at Armstrongs want to help those young people, show their potential and show what they have to offer to the world. Over the course of the Experience Employment campaign, I hope to be positively engaging with and hopefully introducing young people to new employment opportunities.

As a college student, on work placement for Armstrongs, I have learnt a great deal in my months here. Including a wide range of skills and knowledge, not only about aggregate and cut stone, but the working world too.

This has made me want to help young people discover that there IS a position for everyone in the workplace!

Our goals for Experience Employment

The main goal for Experience Employment is about creating experiences for younger people in the workplace. Armstrongs are always looking for new talent, and we believe young people have that. New ideas and fresh ways of thinking are what we love!

The Experience Employment campaign is going to posted across all our social medias, like Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. So keep your eyes open, as we’ve got more on the way!

Also, if you want to read our previous blog, all about tips for your Bespoke Garden, click HERE.

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Every person deserves a garden they can be proud of, and definitely something bespoke. In today’s blog, we will be giving you our best tips on how to create the perfect bespoke garden for you and your home. This will involve tips about cut stone, aggregate and concrete and how these can all be used in your own garden. Here are Armstrongs tips for a bespoke garden.

What makes a bespoke garden?

Bespoke gardens are special. They are personal, particular and tailored to the owner’s needs and also their pleasures. A garden is made bespoke when the owner uses their creativity and initiative to turn it into what they want. Bespoke gardens may contain certain features and/or functions which you may not find in any other garden.

How can you make your garden bespoke?

You can create a bespoke garden by using different materials and features to make it look how you want. Receiving information from professionals will help you to understand and be able to turn your vision into a reality. Armstrongs offer a range of products which can be used in gardens to make them bespoke.

What Armstrongs have to offer to make a garden bespoke?

As mentioned previously, Armstrongs offer a range of products and services to help create the perfect bespoke garden for you. To lay a foundation, we have the best ready mix concrete in the North West to bring straight to you. We know exactly what goes into our mixes, so we can guarantee 100% top quality ready mix concrete to be used to create a clean and durable driveway for your garden.

We also offer smaller aggregate which can be used for driveways, paths or simple features to add to your garden. Our larger aggregate can be used in gabion baskets. Gabion baskets are metal wired baskets filled with 150mm sized aggregate. These can be used to create a wall in your garden and look different to the ordinary stone or brick wall.

We also offer cut stone products and services to offer anybody who may want to add a new piece of bespoke furniture or decoration to their garden. Tables, benches and other decorative pieces are available from Armstrongs which can be used in your own space. Our products are bespoke because they are what you want. We will create the perfect mix of concrete for your needs and help you select the suitable aggregate for the job. We even create your own personalised cut stone feature, looking exactly the way you want it. 

Tips on how to look after your bespoke garden?

When cleaning a stone bench or table, the best way is to wipe down the surface with warm soapy water with a cloth. Kitchen detergent is perfectly fine if you happen to have some lying about. This will remove any residue that could stain. Moreover, to leave a streak free finish to your bench, use a dry, clean cloth and dry the area.

Now, a tip for concrete. If you have a concrete path or driveway, avoid using harsh chemicals such as de-icers. These can eat away at the surface of the concrete, causing it to gradually deteriorate. Therefore, if available, use sand for traction on icy or slippery paths and driveways for traction. At Armstrongs, we offer a varied range of aggregate, including 0-2mm sand. For more information about this product, visit the Our Products page HERE

Do you want to get more information the products and services we have to offer here at Armstrongs or want some help? Contact us HERE.

You can also keep up to date with us across Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

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For those who have never heard about the Bolton Lads & Girls Club, it is a youth club and is a registered charity based in Bolton. They focus on helping young people get on track, building their own foundations and brightening their futures. Bolton Lads & Girls Club welcomes many different opportunities for young people to be able to improve their career journeys.  Today’s blog is all about A day with Bolton Lads & Girls Club.

We wanted to get involved with the Bolton Lads & Girls Club as we always want to give back to the community and do whatever we can to help. We had visited them previously towards the end of 2018 to see how we could get involved with supporting them. It was suggested that we could support their “Get A Job” initiative. The initiative sees a group of local young people go to local businesses. Here they will see what employment opportunities are available and how you get into those opportunities. On Wednesday 13^th February we had the privilege to welcome the first cohort from BLGC to our Montcliffe Quarry.

A day with Bolton Lads & Girls Club at Montcliffe Quarry

Up at Montcliffe quarry, we met with the BLGC cohort at 10.30am. After a quick health and safety demonstration we set off into the quarry.

Aggregate Production

At first, the young cohort was shy but as soon as we got into the quarry they started to get involved. They saw first hand the full aggregate production process. We had just had a blast that yielded 4 thousand tonnes of stone that very morning. They witnessed an excavator loading up the dumper truck. This then transported the stone to the other side of the quarry. At the other side of the quarry we stood for nearly an hour taking in the surroundings. We watched on as the dumper truck deposited the stone.

Two Hitachi excavators then worked to pick the stone into smaller pieces. One had a picker attachment to act as a drill to separate the stone into smaller sizes. Another used a large metal ball, dropping it from great height onto the stone below, to break into smaller pieces. The excavators would then load them into the crusher.

Once the crusher had crushed the stone into aggregate it was then transported by a wheel loader to be screened. Our young cohort watched on as the screener separated the stone further into piles, sorting them by size. Finally another wheel loader would load our tipper wagons with the crushed aggregate as they arrived, ready to transport them to their next locations, such as our AMIX concrete plant.

Up Close With An Excavator

We stood in silence for a while watching the process before getting up close with a Hitachi Excavator. We took a look at the cab, as well as the size and a variety of attachments for the hydraulic arm.

All of a sudden it was as if we had a different set of young people with us, they had come out of their shells. The young cohort had started asking questions, telling us about their interests and showing a genuine interest in our quarry. At this moment we asked them what their ideal job in the quarry would be. The resounding answer was to be an excavator operator. However this was just because of how fun it looked to drop the metal ball from such heights!

Carly, who is a member of BLGC, said “I learned a lot about the history of the quarry and all the uses for the stone and rocks that are produced”

On the way back we were treated to a drive by from Mayson and we shared the history of the fantastic machine along with a quick history of our other 70 wagons.

Highlighting Career Opportunities

For us, it was important to highlight the jobs that we have on offer. As well as the jobs that make our business operate as smooth as possible. Not only do we have workers in our quarries but also in our head office too. At our quarries we have jobs ranging from drivers to ground workers. At our head office you can find HR, Accounts, Transport, sales and marketing teams.

A Meeting with the Blast Master

Once we had made it back to the start of our tour we were treated to a hands on blast master class from our blast master, Alan.

Alan has been the blast technician at Armstrongs for 4 years but has over 20 years experience in quarrying. On the day of the visit from BLGC, Alan had been on site preparing for our blast at 10am since 4am that morning.

Alan took the time to answer any questions about blasting the cohort had before providing a hands on demonstration. Armed with his wiring and a handy little device, he took the care and time to show how we approach a blast. Alan encouraged each one of our young people to take turns in pressing the spark button and create a mini blast through the wiring.

After this encounter we took the time to ask the young people if they had changed their minds about the type of jobs they wanted. It would come as no surprise that they were all firmly fixed on wanting to become our next blast master!

Charlotte, another member of BLGC, particularly enjoyed it saying “It was a fun and interesting session and I enjoyed firing the detonator and it was much louder than I was expecting it to be”.

Final thoughts

Being firmly active and involved in our communities is something that we are proud of. We are incredibly humbled to be able to support Bolton Lads & Girls Club in their “Get A Job” initiative. After the session we asked Andy Simms from BLGC to provide some information and feedback on the initiative.

“Working with a family run local business to provide young people with an opportunity to see and experience what the business does. How it operates both on the front line and behind the scenes and also the history of the family. The stories from staff that can be told to help inspire the young people we work with is invaluable. For me it’s a more real experience for the young people who are hopefully more able to relate to these business. Id like to thank all at Armstrongs for their time in helping us on our projects with young people here at BLGC”

We’d like to thank BLGC for choosing us as one of their local businesses. They will be joining us again, with their second cohort, in early March. You will see more about that trip on our website in the coming weeks.

For more information about the support we offer to our communities you can contact us here.

You can also keep up to date with Armstrongs across Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

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The Armstrongs Values are a set of values we life by at Armstrongs Group. They inform our decision making and influence our recruitment process. The Armstrongs values are made up of: Safety, Responsibility, Customer Focus, be team orientated, be performance driven and entrepreneurial.

The Armstrongs Values

Safety

At Armstrongs, Health and safety plays a big part across our six sites because moving tonnes of aggregates requires heavy machinery and heavy machinery requires health and safety. As a result, Armstrongs have a wide range of health and safety protocols to protect our employees and our environments.

Responsibility

We encourage our employees to take responsibility of their work. We want them to be proud of their work and be responsible for themselves and the safety of others at all times. For instance, giving our staff autonomy allows for them to take pride in the production of our aggregates.

Customer Focus

We have a high focus on our customer experience. From our welcoming customer service to our vast knowledge on our products and services we aim to put the customer at the heart of everything we do. As a result of this, we continuously welcome back repeat customers into our Armstrongs family.

Team Orientated

We really believe in teamwork at Armstrongs. Our teams work tirelessly for each other  across our quarries, stone yard, AMIX batching plant and offices.. The Armstrongs family is exactly that, a family. With sites across Lancashire and Cumbria we value team work as our most important value. Because of this it allows us to work together to create high quality stone produce, from Ready Mix Concrete to Cut Stone, and from our quarries to our drivers.

Performance Driven

We look for all our staff to be performance driven, striving for their best efforts whilst providing high quality service and maintaining our Armstrongs high standards. We have strict quality control standards and encourage our staff to always deliver their best, for instance.

Entrepreneurial

We encourage everyone at Armstrongs to be entrepreneurial in their work ethic. Because of this we promote positivity and always welcome new ideas.

If you think you have the values we hold so importantly and are interested in joining our team then get in touch today here.

You can find a list of our current vacancies here.

Follow our latest updates across our social channels on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

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This week we are talking about Quarrying and the environment.  Armstrong Group are committed to providing a quality service in a manner that ensures a safe and healthy workplace for our employees. We aim to minimise our potential impact on the environment. We operate in compliance with all relevant environmental legislation and we will strive to use pollution prevention and environmental best practices in all we do.

Responsibilities

In this respect we will make every effort to:

• Safeguard and enhance natural habitats and species and preserve the nature and character of the local area.
• Support environmental initiatives that improve health and well being.
• Encourage the reduced consumption of natural resources and energy.
• Operate a purchasing policy that avoids the use of environmentally damaging products.
• Comply with environmental legislation and ensure that our contractors do likewise.
• Commit appropriate levels of staff and financial resources to deliver the aims of our environmental policy.
• Integrate the consideration of environmental concerns and impacts into all of our decision making and activities.
• Promote environmental awareness among our employees and encourage them to work in an environmentally responsible manner.
• Train and educate our employees about environmental issues that may affect their work.
• Reduce waste through re-use and recycling. By purchasing recycled, recyclable or re-furbished products and materials where these alternatives are available, economical and suitable.
• Promote efficient use of materials and resources throughout our facility including water, electricity, raw materials and other resources, particularly those that are non-renewable.
• Avoid unnecessary use of hazardous materials and products, seek substitutions when feasible, and take all reasonable steps to protect human health and the environment when such materials must be used, stored and disposed of.
• Where required by legislation or where significant health, safety or environmental hazards exist, develop and maintain appropriate emergency and spill response programmes.
• Communicate our environmental commitment to clients, customers and the public and encourage them to support it.
• Strive to continually improve our environmental performance and minimise the social impact and damage of activities by periodically reviewing our environmental policy in light of our current and planned future activities.

For more information on our work to sustain the environment, as well as our corporate responsibilities, click here.

You can contact us directly here or call us on 01204 668021 for any more information or enquiries.

Follow us across our social channels for more updates. You can find us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

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You know about our quarries, you have seen our ready mix concrete and our bespoke cut stone products. However, did you know that we also offer Muck Away services too? In this blog we will explain what muck away is, and how we can help you with it.

What is muck away?

Muck away is the simple process of removing inert waste from various sites. Muck away is normally required by councils, trades people, farmlands and construction sites. If you are undertaking a project that will produce large amounts of inert waste, it would be worthwhile to arrange a muck away service.

Types of muck away

Muck away can be classified into three categories: inert, hazardous and non-hazardous.

Inert muck away is defined as waste that has not gone through any chemical physical or biological changes and thus is less likely to affect any other matter that it comes into contact with. Inert muck away includes brick, concrete, hardcore soil and subsoil.

Hazardous muck away is defined as a gathering of waste that has properties that make it harmful to the human health and the environment.

Non-hazardous materials can include a collection of different waste products that are considered not harmful to the environment and human life.

How do we muck away?

The service we offer at Armstrongs is carried out by our modern tipper fleet. This means we have a fleet of 70 wagons available at our disposal to suit a wide range of muck away needs for our customers. Our fleet consists of tipper wagons- we believe these trucks are the best for muck away. We can also provide excavators or wheel loaders to the site. This makes the muck away service completely hassle free for your project.

Our Fleet

Our fleet is powered entirely by Scania. The fleet that is available for muck away is as followed:

8 Wheel Rigid Tipper- Capable of up to 20 Tonnes muck away

Articulated Tipper- Capable of up to 29 Tonnes of muck away

Where does the collected muck go?

Once our tipper trucks are full of waste they will be transported to our inert landfill at Pilkington Quarry in Horwich. We separate the waste by classification of inert and Non-Hazardous waste. Inert waste such as soil is returned to the land. However, other materials such as brick and concrete are recycled.

Recycling Aggregate

Recycling waste is a great way to help our environmental footprint. As a result of this, At Armstrongs we strive to reduce the amount of waste that goes to our landfill. Armstrongs crush brick and concrete into small aggregate to be used in the construction of roads, whilst green waste can be used to make compost to be sold as fertiliser.

We aim to recycle as much muck away as is physically possible with aiming only to return soil and spoil to the land.

Landfill

As well as collecting from various sites Pilkington Quarry accepts inert waste landfill. As a result, Pilkington 1 is exhausted but carries permissions to receive 2m tonnes of inert waste, whilst Pilkington 2 is as yet unmined but carries a pale buff/brown, highly durable gritstone.

If you would like to enquire about inert waste tipping at Pilkington Quarry then contact us today on 01204 668021.

For enquiries about our services give us a call today or email us at enquiries@armstrongsgroup.com

You can also contact us and follow our updates across our social channels on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

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Who are AMIX?

AMIX established since 1993, is one of the longest running concrete companies operating in the North West and a proud subsidiary of Armstrongs Group. AMIX is a company who produce and provide ready mix concrete.

Despite the fact that AMIX have been trading continuously since 1993, they haven’t always been a part of Armstrongs Group. Armstrongs Group bought AMIX in 2015. The aggregate which AMIX use in the making of the concrete is Armstrong’s own. Therefore this ensures top quality as we have full control of what goes into our products.

Within AMIX, there are staff members who have over 30 years of experience in working for major concrete providers. As a result of this AMIX have one of the best teams, in and outside of the office.

What is Ready Mix Concrete?

First of all, what is it that AMIX produce? They produce Ready Mix Concrete. RMC is designed to enable you to cast material into a desired shape and then hardened. Ready mix concrete is made-up of different elements. These are cement, aggregate fine and course, water and other additives if required.

They produce a range of different ready mix concretes. These range from GEN1, which is known for its extreme versatility, to RC50 which is used widely for its industrial strength.

AMIX produce concrete which have multiple different uses. Some of these include driveways, car parks, patios, floors, foundations, walls and footings.

We don’t only just use our own aggregate, but we use CEM1 in our mixes which is 100% cement, ensuring the best quality.

Who do AMIX provide to?

AMIX are very proud to provide concrete too many of the North West’s leading companies including: Builders, Civil Engineers, Tradesmen and Commercial Contractors.

Smaller projects such as home driveways are also something which AMIX are proud of taking part in. This is because of our love for our community, and we want to continue to help lay foundations across Lancashire.

You can visit our AMIX website HERE or contact us if you have any questions or queries about what we do. Feel free to look at our previous blog ‘Concrete vs Cement’ where you can learn more about the trade.

Check out all our socials such as Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and LinkedIn where we post daily!

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Even though concrete and cement are totally different things, it is very common for people to get them mixed up. In today’s blog, it’s Concrete Vs Cement! We’re going to be telling you all about the differences between the two materials and what sets them apart.

Concrete Vs Cement

What is Concrete?

Concrete is what’s formed when aggregate and sand are mixed with cement and water. This is a material which gets stronger and stronger throughout the years and the older it gets. However, time is not the only factor which will cause concrete to harden. Moisture also helps the concrete keep curing (hardening).

Concrete is used in many different purposes around the world, including buildings, bridges and road pavings.

What is Cement?

Cement is a powdery substance which is mixed with other materials to create a desired product. It is an ingredient in concrete and is a powdery substance which is made by calcining lime and clay. Calcining is the part of process where the lime and clay go through a large tunnel and heated to extreme temperatures.

At our subsidiary company, AMIX, we use only the best cement which is CEM1. This contains 100% cement.

Cement is not only used in the production of concrete. There are multiple ways in which cement can be used. These include plastering, masonry work, and creating joints for drains and pipes.

The Process

Portland cement makes up around 10% and 15% of the total mass of concrete. Portland cement is not a brand name however; it is just a generic term for the most universally used cement. Water is added to the Portland cement in a process called ‘hydration’.

This starts a chemical reaction, creating the cement to harden. Before this hardens, sand and aggregate must be added, so a paste-like substance forms. This then turns into an almost rock-like mixture, known as concrete. When the concrete sets, the tiny crystals in the structure will harden.

This shows that there is actually a huge difference between concrete and cement. We hope we have provided you with some quality information which you could maybe use in the future.

If you have many more questions, don’t hesitate to contact us.  If you enjoyed our Concrete Vs Cement blog, have a look at our previous blog which is full of our frequently asked questions, so feel free to visit this HERE.

Check out all our socials such as Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and LinkedIn where we post daily!

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What is quarrying? This is a common question which we are always answering for our customers all the time, and we’re always happy to help!

What is quarrying?

So, what really is quarrying? Quarrying is the extraction of stone or other materials from the earth. The materials we produce from quarrying are be sand, gravel and crushed rock. We refer to these as aggregates. Quarries have different names around the world; some examples are ‘surface mines’, ‘pits’, ‘open pits’ and ‘opencast mines’.

Commonly, quarrying and mining can be mix up. These are two very popular, but different processes which are used for extracting varied materials. Both incorporate the extraction of different minerals; however both have different processes and methods. Both process have different tools and machines for their jobs

Quarry produces materials such as sand, gravel and stone. Whereas mining produces various metals, coal and gemstones. The materials which come from both quarrying and mining include dimension stone, gravel and clay.

Here at Armstrongs, we have 5 quarries which are located in the North West, Lancashire and Cumbria. These are Montcliffe, Pilkington, Brinscall, Shap and Waddington Fell.

Why do we need quarries?

The material which we produce using quarrying is essential to everyday life. Construction is a vital part of the world and our advancements. We must build roads and buildings to help us with travel, living, business and leisure. More than ever, the quarrying industry needs talented men and women to help operate the quarries of today, and the future.

The largest quantity of mineral extracted by quarrying in the UK is used for construction, and known as ‘aggregates’.

Armstrongs have produced and supplied over 1 million tonnes of Aggregates for uses in construction, Concrete and much more. If you want to know more about our involvement with concrete, Check our our AMIX concrete web page.

You can keep up with our latest quarrying news and updates on all our social medias such as Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.

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