Meet the team: Amy Leachman

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

Role: Team Leader / Women’s Network Representative

Branch: Joseph Ash Walsall / Group

Started: September 2021

Favourites…

Food: Roast dinner

Film/TV show: Anything action and thrillers. Gone Girl, Leon, that sort of film are my go-to.

Pastime: Exploring new places and dancing.

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.

After an incredible 41 years of service, Mick Jackson, our IT and Marketing Manager, is leaving Joseph Ash Galvanizing at the end of the year to pursue new opportunities.

Mick has had numerous roles across the Company over the years, starting off in Internal Sales, working his way up to National Sales Manager, and then progressing to his current dual role as IT and Marketing Manager.

We had the pleasure of writing about Mick’s journey throughout the Company in his 40 year anniversary news feature last year.

Head Office arranged a buffet and gifts for him ahead of Friday as a farewell celebration.

Mick has been invaluable to the Company since he joined back in 1983, and we wish Mick all the best for the future!

Last week was sustainability week at Joseph Ash Galvanizing; a week for colleagues to focus on all things sustainability.

It can be easy to forget about sustainability when busy with day-to-day tasks, so the week serves to encourage colleagues to focus on environmental impacts and engage with the natural environment.

As part of the wider Hill & Smith PLC Group, Joseph Ash Galvanizing’s Technical department developed several activities and initiatives for the week to boost our site’s green credentials, have fun, and compete for prizes.

Take a look at some of the activities that took place across our sites below:

Biodiversity initiatives

Some of our galvanizing sites have large spaces of land surrounding them, which could be rewilded to encourage biodiversity. Managers were encouraged to let nature reclaim some of this excess land by allocating sections to be reclaimed by nature and scattering wildflower seeds to encourage new plant growth.

The new areas reclaimed by nature also serve to give colleagues a change of scenery, and potentially allow for new break areas for colleagues as we get closer to the warmer months.

Our Telford site was particularly keen to share their rewilding activities, fencing off a section of land using galvanized steel and dedicating the land enclosed to wildflower growth.

A competition to make the best birdbox was also held to further encourage biodiversity, with vouchers up for grabs for the winner.

Team Premier Galvanizing Corby‘s birdbox entry

Litter picking

Our Telford and Walsall sites have been busy taking part in some litter picking. The litter picked up can be correctly recycled instead of being left out and harming the environment.

Energy saving treasure hunt

To reduce carbon footprints at each of our sites, colleagues were encouraged to form groups and walk around the sites and and evaluate their environment, keeping sustainability in mind. This could include turning off lights, machines and other resources and questioning if they need to be used.

The energy saving treasure hunt is not a new concept; it was developed in 1999 by Toyota, and is a great activity for all companies to conduct, regardless of industry.

Competitions and prizes

There’s nothing like a bit of friendly competition, especially if it helps the environment! Prizes will be awarded for colleagues on a number of different categories:

“Best Birdbox” award for the colleague who makes the best birdbox, with a voucher up for grabs for the winner – congratulations to Team Premier Galvanizing Corby!
“Greatest Reduction in Energy” award for the site with the greatest reduction in CO² emissions per ton of galvanized steel for the month of May.
“Most Sustainable Site” award for the site with the lowest year-to-date CO² output relative to galvanizing output.

Winners will be confirmed in the next few days/weeks.

Karl Hicks, Environmental and ESG Advisor at Joseph Ash, commented on the week:

“It’s been a great Sustainability Week where all the sites I’ve been to have shown real enthusiasm for getting involved, with dare I say a bit of competitive spirit. I am particularly chuffed with the fusion of “sustainability” & “galvanizing” that I’ve seen this week that demonstrates that the two are interconnected within the circular economy.

“My initial ideas for how sites could get involved have been improved on. I know that other things are in the pipeline across the sites in the next few weeks, and I’m looking forward to seeing those and dishing out awards for them accordingly.”

Overall, the week has been a huge success. Thank you and well done to all for your efforts in improving our sustainability and environmental impact!

Interested in learning more about our sustainability initiatives?

BLOG: Is galvanizing sustainable?

Our ESG initiatives

A huge congratulations to Gurpal (Charlie) Singh, who celebrated an incredible 40 years at Joseph Ash Galvanizing!

Gurpal is our General Manager at our Walsall site and has been invaluable to the company since he joined.

Colleagues from throughout the site gathered for the occasion. Jason Anderson, Managing Director, visited the site and congratulated Gurpal on his long service achievement.

Congratulations Gurpal, and thank you for all of your hard work over the past 40 years!

A huge congratulations to Jackie Wright, who celebrated 25 years at Joseph Ash Galvanizing today!

Jackie is our Office Manager at our Bilston site, and has been invaluable to the Company ever since she joined back in 1999.

She was surprised with a lovely bouquet of flowers by her colleagues.

Congratulations Jackie!

A huge congratulations to Pauline Alcide who recently celebrated 30 years at Joseph Ash Galvanizing!

Based at Head Office as an Assistant Accountant, Pauline has played a fundamental role within the Finance department and the wider Joseph Ash Group for many years.

Pauline commented on her time at Joseph Ash:

“I started with Joseph Ash Ltd when the company was called “Joseph Ash & Son Galvanizing Ltd“ and the head office was still in Birmingham. I was 30 years of age at the time.

“During this time, I have seen people come and go and I have also made lots of friends over the years.

“I have watched the business grow from strength to strength and worked under 4 Managing Directors who have made the company what it is today.

“I’ve thoroughly enjoyed working at Joseph Ash Ltd over the last 30 years and I am looking forward to many more years to come.”

Congratulations Pauline!

We were proud to hold our own Oscars Awards Evening to celebrate the colleagues who played a role in helping create new internal Joseph Ash video content. The videos were created as part of a new induction process, to help introduce new starters to the company.

The evening served as a thank you to those who were closely involved in the making and filming of the videos. Their input was recognised and celebrated, with four people winning awards based on Joseph Ash Galvanizing’s values – Respect and Decency, Team Spirit, Learning and Improvement, and Taking Responsibility. Awards were presented by Stuart Whitehouse, Managing Director.

The winners were:

Respect and Decency: Osmond Crosdale

Osmond pulled together a meaningful summary of what he felt Respect and Decency looks like in Joseph Ash and went on camera to talk about this in the film. He also had his own “mic drop” moment with the final line of his summary:

“So if you have respect and you’re decent, welcome to Joseph Ash, we need you”.

Team Spirit: Estera Bak

Estera helped massively in ensuring that the Health and Safety element of our Induction video was accurate and covered everything we needed. She then travelled over from Telford to Walsall for just 15 minutes of filming for the Respect and Decency section of the video.

Learning and Improvement: Prakash Patel

Prakash was asked to do some acting during a segment of one of the films. He displayed perseverance despite needing a few takes, and progressively got more comfortable with the role. He won the Learning and Improvement award for his development and dedication during the filming process.

Taking Responsibility: Mick Barber

Mick was fundamental to the creation of the four films. He took it on his shoulders to advise technically and operationally; to cajole colleagues into acting; to get them to move products backwards and forwards on fork lifts; to stop the jig and move it back if the shot hadn’t gone right. Mick assumed responsibility from the start and demonstrated the kind of leadership that should stand as a model for our business.

Congratulations to those who won an award, and thank you to everybody involved in the creation of the videos!

After 19 years working at Joseph Ash Galvanizing, the company said farewell to John McMahon on the 30^th of June.

To say goodbye, staff at Head Office arranged a buffet lunch and a gift collection pot. Neil Kanagaratnam presented a bottle of bubbly, and delivered a farewell speech.

John has had a number of different jobs outside of the company over his lifetime, including a job as a magistrate! But his longest role has been at Joseph Ash Galvanizing.

John McMahon left parting words for his colleagues.

“I would like to thank you all for your professionalism and support over those years and I have enjoyed working with you all.”

“Like Spock says, live long and prosper!”

We wish you all the best for the future, John!

The year 2023 has been full of long services at Joseph Ash Galvanizing, and June 6th means that Jeannette Dixon has been with the Company for 40 years!

Jeannette has had a fantastic journey though the Company. She started back in 1983, just before her 18th birthday, shortly after finishing secretarial college. There were only two plants back then – one in Birmingham and one in Telford. She was secretary to the Galvanizing Director at the time, working for him for several years before he retired.

The company expanded, and Jeannette became secretary to the Managing Director. She left after some years to have her child and worked part-time on her return, working for the Sales Manager. After another few years she went to work within Transport department before finally relocating with other colleagues to our current Head Office in Halesowen.

In her speech, she commented: “I’ve seen lots of changes, met lots of great people, seen the company develop, and I’ve enjoyed every minute of it.”

Jeannette was gifted with a lovely bouquet of flowers as well as £500 which she towards a brand new laptop. She and her colleagues at Head Office will also be going out for a celebratory meal at Miller & Carter.

Congratulations Jeannette!

View the video on our TikTok page.

In 1998, Ranjit Singh started work as a new team member at our Walsall plant. Fast forward 25 years, and we proudly say he is still here and part of our Joseph Ash family.

Ranjit began his career in galvanizing on the yard. After that, he worked in the fettling/packing team before moving on to other groups and departments, including as a Galvanizing Operative (his current role).

What Ranjit doesn’t know about galvanizing isn’t worth knowing as he has worked in most parts of the plant throughout his career!

During his 25 years of service at Joseph Ash, Ranjit has displayed all the attributes required to be a fantastic member of our team. He has the knowledge and skillsets needed to excel at his job daily. He is also loyal, friendly and a great all-around employee.

Charlie Singh, Divisional Manager at Joseph Ash Walsall, said: “Ranjit is well respected by his colleagues and always has time to chat with anyone around the site. At a recent Walsall charity event, we were thrilled to give him a gift and a celebratory round of applause to reward his quarter century’s hard work and loyalty to Joseph Ash and fellow team members.”

Congratulations Ranjit!