Our Perfect Ten
ScotAsh Limited-the award winning joint venture between ScottishPower and Lafarge Cement - has celebrated its 10th anniversary. Incorporated on 14th June 1999, ScotAsh opened its doors for business on 5th July 1999.
Top team: Members of the ScotAsh team beside one of the company's storage silos
Incorporated on 14th June 1999, ScotAsh opened its doors for business on 5th July 1999.
The original joint venture was forged between energy utility ScottishPower and cement manufacturer Blue Circle out of a desire to be more sustainable -and to develop new markets for ash-based construction products.
Over the years the identity of our parent companies has changed. Blue Circle was acquired by the French headquartered Lafarge Cement in 2001 and in 2007 ScottishPower became part of the Spanish-based IBERDROLA group.
Before the company was formed, most of ScottishPower's ash output - between 600,000 and 800,000 tonnes each year - was pumped to lagoons where, over time it dried out and formed new land along the shore of the River Forth.
A small predecessor company, ScottishPower Ash Sales, known subsequently as Scottish Pozzament, started the manufacture of cement and other products at Longannet Power Station.
The company supplied a few high profile contracts -including a giant North Sea oil platform - but it lacked the investment required to realise its full potential.
Investment was needed to overcome two key barriers to success.
In order to manufacture CE-marked cement products from ash, the carbon content of the Pulverised Fuel Ash (PFA) must be below 7%.
Fluctuating carbon levels in ash direct from the power stations prevented the business from maximising sales opportunities.
Secondly, matching supply with demand was difficult, as the power stations produce most ash in winter, while the peak period for construction is in summer. Following the formation of ScotAsh - under former Managing Director Dr Nigel Cooke -an £8 million investment programme was drawn up.
This involved building new storage silos, state of the art blending and packing facilities and new offices.
The new silos enabled ScotAsh to store ash produced during the winter to meet customer demand during the summer. To address the quality issue, ScotAsh invested in a process that removes carbon from the ash electro- statically, leaving a high-grade mineral ash that can be used in quality controlled cement products.
The company's current Managing Director, Peter Quinn, succeeded Nigel Cooke in January 2004 and continued to build on the vision of the two parent companies to develop a sustainable and economically successful, award winning business.
Today, ScotAsh is selling practically all of the ash that comes its way - and value added cement products account for a greater proportion of sales every year.
Read on for our 10th anniversary highlights.
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