Meet the team: Jess Price

We had the opportunity to chat with Jess Price, our Transport Compliance Manager at Joseph Ash Galvanizing, to find out a bit about her and her role within the company.

Meet Jess Price

Can you give an overview of your time at the company?

I started as a Goods In Administrator in 2017 at our Joseph Ash Telford division in 2017. Thanks to experience gained on the job doing holiday cover, I learnt a lot about the Transport side of the business which led to me being promoted to Transport Officer in 2020.

In 2023, I became Transport Manager and earned my Transport Manager Certificate of Professional Competence (CPC).

Now, I’m Transport Compliance Manager at Joseph Ash Galvanizing Head Office. I’m relatively new into this role, but at the moment we’re focusing on centralising each of the divisions’ transport management compliance to reduce duplicated responsibilities and improve how we operate.

What was your experience before Joseph Ash?

I joined Joseph Ash after leaving Sixth Form a year early. I knew I wanted to start working and earning money, and I successfully landed my initial role as Goods In Administrator.

I didn’t have any knowledge or experience about galvanizing or transport before I started. The team were really welcoming and helped me to learn all aspects of the role quickly, and the experience I gained in the transport department me progress into the role I have today. Joseph Ash has been great in helping me develop my career and has been supportive throughout, like with helping to fund my CPC course.

Can you tell us about the CPC qualification you did?

It was a very broad course, covering everything from driver health and safety, to running your own business. It was a 2 week course, which involved a two-part exam; one part was a multiple choice exam and the other involved a case study. It helped me gain even more knowledge in Transport and it’s a requirement for becoming a qualified Transport Manager.

Can you explain about your role as Transport Compliance Manager?

The Transport Compliance role is a new initiative so will develop over time, but my first priority is to ensure we are safe, compliant, and efficient with our transport across all our divisions.

As part of my move to a central position, we will also be implementing driver efficiency initiatives to avoid unnecessary travel by working out how each fleet can best work to collect and deliver our customers’ projects. In doing this, we aim to reduce our environmental impact and keep our operations as sustainable as possible while ensuring our customers get their work back to them quickly and in perfect condition.

The health and safety side of our transport has greatly improved during my time here. We’ve implemented lots of driver health and safety initiatives, including new security equipment, driver technology, updated cameras in vehicles, and internal breaking system and monitor breaking.

I’m looking forward to continue to grow in my role and help develop the transport side of the business further!

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Our latest company newsletter is now live!

We said a fond farewell to Pauline Alcide, Assistant Account at Joseph Ash Galvanizing Head Office, as she retired after over 30 years’ service.

Our Galvanizing Today article covers the benefits of powder coating for aluminium, and why it’s preferential to traditional liquid paint.

Finally, we share our closing dates for the upcoming May bank holidays to help you stay prepared with any upcoming requirements.

Read your copy here.

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After over 30 years at Joseph Ash Galvanizing, Pauline Alcide, our Assistant Accountant, is leaving the company today to enjoy her well-deserved retirement.

Pauline started at Joseph Ash back when the company was called “Joseph Ash & Son”, and our Head Office was still in Birmingham.

Pauline has made a huge impact across the company during her time here, and she was surprised with farewell gifts sent from colleagues across all our galvanizing plants.

Describing her time at Joseph Ash, Pauline comments:

“I just want to say a big thank you to everyone for making my 31 years at Joseph Ash Ltd an amazing time well spent. I have seen many people come and go over these years while working here and I just want to thank each and every one of you for the love and support you have given me over the years which made my days much easier.”

Pauline will be missed by all across the Company, and we wish her all the best for the future!

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Our March 2025 company newsletter is now live!

This month, our Galvanizing Today article explores how you can protect steel that is too small for hot dip galvanizing from corrosion.

We also spotlight Amy Leachman, our Team Leader at Joseph Ash Walsall, and discuss her role in the Hill & Smith PLC Women’s Network, designed to promote gender equality in an industry that’s traditionally male-dominated.

Finally, we share our guide on safely designing your steel for hot dip galvanizing – crucial for ensuring your work is safe for the galvanizing process.

To read your copy, click here.

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We’re excited to share we’re increasing our production capacity at Joseph Ash Bilston.

Our Bilston site is home to the UK’s deepest galvanizing bath at 3.6 metres, able to provide a fully vertical dip for long steel such as cable management trays.

If you’ve got a regular galvanizing requirement, or a requirement for an upcoming project, contact us today to discuss.

Give us a call on 01902 353935 or email gregc@josephash.co.uk with the details of the enquiry and we can see how we can assist.

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At Joseph Ash, we proud to be part of the Hill & Smith PLC Women’s Network, designed to empower and support women within the Company by fostering an inclusive environment that promotes professional development, raises awareness, and launches initiatives designed to promote equality in a traditionally male-dominated industry.

Amy Leachman, our Team Leader at Joseph Ash Walsall, is our representative for the Hill & Smith Women’s Network as well as our own Joseph Ash Women’s Network.

We had the opportunity to chat with Amy about her day-to-day role as Team Leader, as well as the role she plays as representative for the Networks.

Meet Amy Leachman

Can you give an overview of your role?

I started at Joseph Ash as a temp for holiday cover in September 2021 and was taken on as a full-time member of staff from January 2022.

My current role is as the Team Leader for the sales and customer service department at Joseph Ash Walsall. I have a passion for customer service and enjoy dealing with issues to problem solve and find positive solutions for the customers moving forward.

A large portion of my time is spent helping the Commercial Manager with the division’s top accounts, building influential relationships that have helped put the division in good stead as being the supplier of choice for our customers.

Over the last 6 months I have also spent much of my time learning and beginning to understand the production and operational side of the business in more depth. I look up to Tracie, our Operations Manager at our Joseph Ash Telford site; I’d personally like to progress to such a role in the future to help boost the female representation in the Operational side.

The Operational side of our business is fascinating to me as there is so much to learn. I firmly believe having a clear understanding of these areas will help provide a cross over between sales/customer service and production/operations that can lead to a very successful all-round experience for the customer.

For me, learning new areas of the business has been eye-opening. I’ve had days where it has not been easy, but also had amazing days that have taught me so much and encouraged me to persist as there is a lot I can learn and offer.

The focus on efficiency and adapting for the future is of particular interest to me, so looking at these areas in more depth has been fascinating. I would like to continue to learn every aspect of the business in order to continue to grow at Joseph Ash, and potentially in the future progress to a management role.

Can you talk a bit about your career history before Joseph Ash?

Prior to Joseph Ash I have always worked in customer service roles within the Manufacturing industry, from window manufacturing to stair manufacturing, but in a part time capacity as I had young children. Joseph Ash is the first time I have worked full-time in over 10 years, but I now wouldn’t have that any other way and feel now my children are getting older it’s my time to strive and work on my own progression.

I’ve always worked in traditionally male-dominated industries, and believe it’s an industry you either love or is not for you, but I always knew it is the industry I wanted to continue my career in.

Why did you want to join Joseph Ash?

I came to Joseph Ash following being on furlough for an extended period of time at my previous company during the COVID pandemic. Originally, it was in a temporary role to provide holiday cover, but after being offered a permanent role, I knew – from getting to know the team, customers and processes over the previous few months – that it was a no-brainer and easy decision to say yes to joining the team here.

What do you enjoy about working at Joseph Ash?

I enjoy everything about working at Joseph Ash! The process itself is fascinating and amazing to learn the ins and outs of, but my favourite part of working at Joseph Ash is the people. The people from across all departments and divisions are fantastic. 

Can you talk about your role in the Joseph Ash/Hill & Smith Women’s Network?

In July 2023 I was put forward to be the Joseph Ash representative in the Hill & Smith Women’s Network. The network is made up of women and men from across all group companies in the UK, America and India. The network has spent the last 18 months meeting once a month and working on four key objectives aimed to inspire more women into a career within manufacturing and infrastructure; provide support and a community to our women; to meet and discuss barriers they face; and to share best practices and provide resources, tools and techniques to help women develop themselves.

As part of the objectives, three workstreams were presented to the Executive Board in April 2024 and have since been worked on and are now starting to be tested and rolled out to Group companies. These workstreams include Inclusive Mentoring, Inclusive Hiring Practices, and PPE designed to fit women. I’ve personally worked on the inclusive mentoring programme, sharing ideas and presenting this workstream to the Executive Board which was a new experience for me.

Being a part of the network has given me an insight into various aspects of the group companies, their functions and how they operate whilst also offering an insight into the challenges faced by other women.

We ourselves at Joseph Ash have now put together our own Women’s Network with a representative from all our divisions and Head Office, where we share information gained from the Hill & Smith Network and in turn share our ideas back with them. Having our own network gives us much better opportunities to assess what initiatives will make a difference to us and the women within our business whilst also allowing us to discuss ideas and potentially implement changes.  

What the company does to Accelerate Action towards women’s equality (the theme of this year’s IWD)?

The company’s ongoing commitment to the Women’s Network helps accelerate action by enabling us to address the barriers and biases women within the company face.  The initiatives developed within the Network have been fundamental in accelerating the group towards gender equality in a traditionally male-dominated environment.  

Are there any other Women’s Network initiatives you’d like to share, or are there any initiatives planned for the future that you can talk about?

I’d like to remind everyone, not only women, of the opportunity to join the two external networks we can access as part of the Women’s Network.

Women In Manufacturing and Women’s Engineering Society both offer extensive online resources including podcasts on various subjects, ranging from dealing with imposter syndrome to how to deal with difficult situations.

Is there anything you’d like to tell us, that we haven’t asked you?

Just that it is a privilege being a part of Joseph Ash and the Women’s Network. I feel passionately about ensuring women see their worth and are treated equally in such a male-dominated industry so it is a pleasure to be a part of.

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Our February 2025 company newsletter is now live!

This month, we talk all about shot blasting in our latest Galvanizing Today article, including what it is, why it’s done, and where you can get your steel shot blasted.

We also had the opportunity to chat to two of our colleagues across the Group: Jess Ramanouski, our Internal Sales Executive at Widnes Galvanising, and Paul Martin, our Commercial Manager at Premier Galvanizing Corby.

To read your copy, click here.

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We had the opportunity to chat with Paul Martin, our Commercial Manager at Premier Galvanizing Corby, to find out a bit about him and his role within the company.

Can you give a brief overview of your role at the company?

I originally started at Joseph Ash Telford in 2021, and have been with Premier Galvanizing Corby since 2023. I’m the Commercial Manager at the site and manage a team of three wonderful sales people, I would say the best sales team in the group! I’m responsible for looking after all of our existing and potential customers. I link with all other departments here in Corby to make sure we’re offering the best service and quality. I also liaise with the other sales teams within our group to keep up with all the market information. 

What was your career like before joining the company, and why did you want to join Joseph Ash?

Originally, I started out working in the Events industry hiring out cutting-edge IT and AV equipment like Giant LED walls, VR and AR kits. I then moved into sales in industries such as Waste Management, before starting at Joseph Ash Telford. I’m passionate about speaking to people, and I enjoy understanding their needs and finding a solution to their problems.

Since I’ve been here, the team have been great in helping me develop my skills and knowledge in galvanizing. I’ve now become a qualified galvanizing inspector and enjoy helping our customers to understand the process and explaining how galvanizing can benefit them in their work. 😊

What do you enjoy about working at Joseph Ash/Premier Galvanizing?

It’s great working for the number one galvanizer in the country and having a fantastic team around me in all areas, but a special mention to Sales and Production in Corby – you guys rock!!

I also like the benefits the company offers, including the Save to Share scheme we have, as well as the discounts app the company has which helps save money on everyday spending.

What are you looking forward to in the coming year?

The continued growth for Corby and expanding our reach and services, and continuing to work with our fantastic customers!

Is there anything you’d like to tell us that we haven’t asked you?

I have had nine knee operations from sports related injuries, and I have some steel in my knees because of them (not galvanized!). 

Tell us something people might find surprising about you.

I have met and partied with the likes of Pete Tong, Calvin Harris, Fabio & Grooverider, Pendulum, Mumford and Sons and many others in my previous career. 

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Widnes Galvanising Ltd, trading as Joseph Ash Widnes, has achieved the ISO 9001 accreditation for Quality Management Systems.

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GBT Steelwork, a leader in bespoke steel fabrication, recently completed an extensive project for Urban Nest, a premier student accommodation provider in London. The project involved producing hundreds of steel bike racks for four of Urban Nest’s properties across the city and fabricating a disability access ramp for the Battersea property. To ensure maximum longevity, GBT Steelwork collaborated with Joseph Ash Galvanizing to protect the access ramp and 300 bike racks with a long-lasting hot dip galvanized finish.

Meeting the needs of modern student living

The role of hot dip galvanizing

GBT Steelwork chose Joseph Ash Medway to hot dip galvanize the steel bike racks and accessibility ramp. Hot dip galvanizing was chosen as the steel protection method of choice as it is an effective method of protecting steel against corrosion.

The galvanizing process involves immersing steel in molten zinc, creating a robust protective coating where the zinc metallurgically bonds to the steel. This method provides several key benefits that are particularly valuable for urban infrastructure projects:

Corrosion resistance

The primary benefit of hot dip galvanizing is its enhanced corrosion protection for steel, including in outside environments. The zinc coating protects the steel from rust and weathering, making it ideal for the bike racks and ramp.

Longevity

Galvanized steel has a significantly longer lifespan compared to untreated steel, ensuring the bike racks and ramp remain functional and protected against visually unappealing rust for decades. It also means the racks and ramp won’t need to be re-coated and replaced as frequently, saving disruption on downtime for the residents.

Cost saving

Thanks to its increased longevity and protection against corrosion, there are fewer costs from re-coating, maintaining, and replacing the steel.

Promoting sustainable and inclusive living

The bike racks and disability ramp are more than just functional additions; they reflect Urban Nest’s vision for sustainable and inclusive student living. By encouraging cycling, Urban Nest helps reduce carbon emissions while promoting a healthy lifestyle among students. The accessibility ramp, on the other hand, ensures that no resident or visitor is unable to access the property.

Hot dip galvanizing fits into the principles of a circular economy and is an ideal choice for companies who are mindful about sustainability.

A step forward in urban development

Andy Thompson from GBT Steelwork said “This project highlights GBT Steelwork and Joseph Ash Galvanizing’s ability to deliver durable, sustainable, and aesthetically pleasing solutions for modern urban challenges. It’s great to be able to work on projects that are not only aesthetically pleasing and inclusive, but also practical and durable.”

Joseph Ash Galvanizing has protected the steel for several GBT Steelwork projects over the last few years, including some balconies for a prestigious Knightsbridge apartment. The partnership was great for this project, as GBT Steelwork’s expertise in steel fabrication and Joseph Ash’s galvanizing process ensure that Urban Nest’s investment is practical and sustainable.

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GBT Steelwork can fabricate all types of architectural and structural steelwork, anything from steel beams to gates, bike racks to agricultural pens, balconies to staircases. For more information about GBT Steelwork’s fabrication services contact Andy Thompson on aftommo@hotmail.co.uk or 07872507973.

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