Ray Rubenis retires
Ray Rubenis retires from Joseph Ash after 37 years
Whilst looking on a Birmingham history chat room a few days ago we came across some text about the origins of Joseph Ash Galvanizing. One of historians in the forum stated that in the 1950s people used to queue to try and get a job at Joseph Ash Galvanizing, and once they had a foot in the door, it was a job for life with good pay and good experiences. We think this still rings true in more modern times, as we’ve just celebrated the retirement of a valued member of staff – Ray Rubenis – who has left the Company after 37 years’ service.
Ray started working at Joseph Ash Telford in 1982, starting out on the shop floor. From then on for the next 21 years, the Telford branch allowed Ray the opportunity to work his way up through Jigging to Dipping. In 2003, Ray moved to the maintenance department where he could also put his excellent fabrication skills to use. He spent another 11/12 years in this department ensuring any improvements/repairs were completed to keep the plant up and running.
In mid-2012, due to the economic situation at the time across the UK, Ray was facing redundancy. He did not want to leave the Company and he said, “the Walsall Branch came to the rescue and offered me a vacant position within their team, where I was able to work happily until my retirement”.
During Ray’s time at Joseph Ash Walsall he fabricated, repaired and completed general maintenance for the plant working with great support from a fantastic team. He said: “I worked at Joseph Ash for the best years of my life, totalling 37 years. I was extremely lucky to have found a career and home at both their sites and leave with only my best wishes to all the colleagues that I worked with during this time.”
Ray is now looking forward to spending his retirement looking after his grandchildren more often, going away with his caravan in tow whenever (and as often!) as he can, and completing all the jobs he’d been putting off over the years in his home “and of course whatever my wife would like me to do!”.
Congratulations on your retirement Ray. It’s been great having you as part of the Joseph Ash family for nearly 40 years. Enjoy your well-deserved retirement and come back and see us sometime!
First photo left to right: Osmond Crosdale (Maintenance Manager), Charlie Singh (DM Walsall), Ray Rubenis, Sukwinder Singh (Deputy Divisional Manager)
Second photo left to right: Gerry Green (Group Operations Director) and Ray Rubenis
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25 years ago, in 1993, ‘Jurassic Park’ and ‘The Firm’ showed at the cinema; ‘Seinfeld’, ‘Roseanne’ and ‘Murder, She Wrote’ were amongst the most popular TV shows; Meatloaf spent over a month as UK number one for ‘I’d Do Anything for Love’; and Pete Sampras and Steffi Graf won Wimbledon. Also, in this year – in Joseph Ash Galvanizing related history – Pauline Alcide joined our team!
Pauline started her career at Joseph Ash in the Head Office as a Payroll Clerk. Fast forward seven years to 2000, and she was promoted to Assistant to the Accountant. In 2003 she also took on the extra responsibility of managing the payroll for the company.
Pauline reports to Richard Hall, the Finance Director for the Joseph Ash Group, and can be seen in the photo being presented with some flowers from Steven Hopkins, Managing Director.
‘Loyal’, ‘honest’, ‘funny’ and ‘very friendly’ are the words that spring to mind when we think about Pauline, so we are lucky to have her working with us.
When Pauline isn’t working, she loves to dance, enjoying salsa nights with her husband every week.
Congratulations on reaching your 25-year anniversary Pauline! A great achievement.
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Appreciation for years of service
The start of Autumn has seen a string of anniversaries for various team members at Joseph Ash Galvanizing, with three of our colleagues celebrating long-time service ranging from 20-35 years.
The three team members are Stuart Cobourne, Peter Ore and Darren Sweet.
Stuart Cobourne
Stuart works as the Divisional Manager in our Joseph Ash Telford plant and has clocked up an amazing 20 years’ service with the company.
He joined the Joseph Ash Technical Department in 1998 and trained as a Metallurgist, after which he held the role of Technical Manager. With a view to moving into line management, he took a year’s secondment as a Works Manager at Joseph Ash Hereford, whilst also completing an MBA at Worcester University, and in 2013 he assumed the position of Joseph Ash Telford Divisional Manager.
During the last 20 years, Stuart has also served as the Chairman of the Technical Committee of the Galvanizers Association and was heavily involved in a joint project with the BCSA to produce industry guidance on CE marking, as well as the development of a range of national and international standards.
Stuart’s technical competence has enabled Joseph Ash Telford to become universally recognised for having the best galvanizing quality in the UK.
Peter Ore
In 1988 Peter joined Joseph Ash at the Bridgend plant, as a Potman. 30 years later and we’re proud to say that he’s still with the company. He has been a hard-working and loyal employee who has witnessed a lot of changes as the company has grown. He is a valued member of the team.
Darren Sweet
Darren joined the Joseph Ash Telford plant in 1983, the year when the pound coin was introduced, the compact disc was first marketed in Britain, James Dyson launched his first prototype vacuum cleaner and the Space Shuttle Challenger had its maiden launch. 35 years later and we’re pleased to say that Darren is still a valued member of our team. He is hard-working, honest and loyal, always working to and excelling in his role as Shift Supervisor.
Congratulations on reaching these milestones Stuart, Peter and Darren. Major achievements!
Next pageAmazing achievements for three team members at Joseph Ash Galvanizing.
August 2018 marks some landmark achievements for three team members at Joseph Ash Galvanizing. Tracie Lockley, Collin Humphries and David Carling have each reached 20, 25 and 30 years respectively – an amazing 75 years between them!
Tracie Lockley – Deputy Divisional Manager, Joseph Ash Telford – celebrating 20 years
Tracie has been with Joseph Ash Galvanizing since 1998 when she joined our Birmingham division in the commercial department. Since that time Tracie has worked in various commercial roles for both Joseph Ash Galvanizing Birmingham and then Joseph Ash Telford, before opting for a change in direction by taking on the extremely challenging role of Works Manager at Telford in 2013. Having excelled in this role, Tracie is now Deputy Divisional Manager and is an essential member of the Telford team.
Collin Humphries – Galvanizing Operative, Joseph Ash Chesterfield – celebrating 25 years
Collin joined Joseph Ash Galvanizing as an agency worker in 1993. He has stayed with the company ever since and has worked most roles at the Joseph Ash Chesterfield plant from jigging, to hot dip galvanizing baths and acid. Since August 2014 he has been doing general site tidy up, and he now also gets to enjoy the company of his son, who also works at Joseph Ash Chesterfield.
David Carling – Divisional Manager, Joseph Ash Chesterfield – celebrating 30 years
David started at Joseph Ash Chesterfield in 1988 as QA and Maintenance Manager with environmental and health and safety responsibilities (for both the Chesterfield and Metnor plants). Before joining Joseph Ash he was an Engineering Manager at a foundry in Sunderland.
David became Technical Director at the Metnor plant in 2000 and in 2006 reverted to the role of Technical Manager. In 2010 he became Divisional Manager at Joseph Ash Chesterfield – a role he has had ever since.
From 1994 until 2006 David was also a part of the Galvanizers Association Technical Committee.
Congratulations Tracie, Collin and David for your long-time service achievements!
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In an era where people tend not to stay in ‘jobs-for-life’ and instead move from place to place every 3/4/5 years, we’re proud to say that almost every month we have a number of employees at Joseph Ash Galvanizing achieving long-time service milestones at our various plants. The last two months have been no exception! Let’s celebrate these achievements by recognising the individual team members:
Jeannette Dixon – Head Office (35yrs)
Jeannette tops our chart this month for long-time service, with a huge 35 years at Joseph Ash Galvanizing under her belt!
Jeannette left Secretarial College in 1983 and started her first job as Secretary to the Galvanizing Director at Joseph Ash, whilst also supporting the Works Manager and the Sales Team. After a period of five years she was appointed Secretary to the MD of the company.
She continued as a Secretary through many years – whilst also managing to take time out for maternity leave.
Since 1998/1999 Jeannette has held various roles in the company including Transport Secretary, Operations Administrator and Transport Compliance.
She has been a valuable addition to the company since she joined, she has become part of the furniture and we’re not sure what we would’ve done without her! Congratulations Jeanette. (The photos show Jeannette receiving a long-time service gift from Steven Hopkins, MD.)
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Next up are three team members who have recently celebrated two decades at Joseph Ash Galvanizing: Mark Andrew Peacock, Alan Warburton and Stuart Cartwright.
Mark Andrew Peacock – Joseph Ash Chesterfield – celebrating 20 years
Mark is an Assistant Foreman at Joseph Ash Chesterfield. Competent and knowledgeable, he has worked all of the shifts at the Chesterfield plant at some point in his employment, working days, nights, double days etc. What he doesn’t know about the workings of the Chesterfield plant, probably are not worth knowing. Congratulations Mark!
Alan Warburton – Joseph Ash Bilston – celebrating 20 years
Alan is a Galvanizing Operative at Joseph Ash Bilston. He is an important member of the team who has gained most of his experience in the white end de-jigging, and in preparing work for the customers post treatment. Two decades: a huge achievement!
Stuart Cartwright – Joseph Ash Bilston – celebrating 20 years
Stuart is a Galvanizing Operative and stand-in Supervisor at Joseph Ash Bilston. He knows Joseph Ash Galvanizing inside-out, having worked in most areas of the business during his time. Stuart currently works in the black end jigging department at Bilston, ensuring work is jigged correctly and is suitable for the upcoming processes. Congratulations Stuart!
Congratulations everyone!
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Celebrating 40 and 25 year anniversaries at Joseph Ash Galvanizing for Dalit Singh and John Eyre.
In 1978 the first test tube baby was born; the first mobile phone was introduced in Illinois; and Grease appeared at the cinema. This is the year that Dalit Singh joined Joseph Ash Galvanizing. Fast forward four decades and he is still here! What an achievement.
Dalit first started his job with Walker Brothers Galvanizing, which was taken over by Hill & Smith, Joseph Ash Galvanizing’s parent company. His first job was in Jigging Materials, and he then moved to become a Pot Man. For the past 12 years he has been a Shift Supervisor at the Joseph Ash Walsall plant.
The news doesn’t stop there though! This month we’d also like to mention John Eyre who has also reached a 25 year milestone at Joseph Ash Chesterfield. John joined our Chesterfield plant in 1993, and can do pretty much every job in the plant (including driving a fork lift truck). Since May 2017 John has been the Shift Foreman at Chesterfield.
Both men have been very loyal workers and key team members in their respective plants. Congratulations to you both!
Next pageWe’re pleased to report a number of promotions and staff changes at Joseph Ash Bilston over the last few months. Please join us in congratulating Robert Nelson, the new Divisional Manager, who has been promoted from the position of Senior Technical Manager. Robert has taken over the role from Fred Haycock, who is retiring in April.
We also congratulate Lucy Foster-Bowen who became Bilston’s new Customer Service Manager in December.
Michael Worth was also promoted from Technical Manager to Senior Technical Manager; and finally Daniel Durn was promoted from Operational Support Manager at Bilston to the new Technical Manager for the whole of the Joseph Ash Group. Well done all!
Fred, we wish you well for your retirement after many, many years at Joseph Ash Galvanizing, and we’ll be sad to see you go. Best wishes for this next chapter!
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Congratulations to the runners and riders of the Velo Birmingham.
A couple of weekends ago the inaugural Velo Birmingham took place in the Midlands.
The course was 100 miles long and 15,000 cyclists of all abilities took part, criss-crossing through the picturesque Worcestershire and Staffordshire countryside before returning to Birmingham.
The event – which raised funds for various charities – was also created as part of the Birmingham Cycle Revolution, whereby Birmingham City Council are trying to encourage more people to take to the roads on two wheels, rather than four.
As per an earlier story on our website in March, we’re proud to say that members of Joseph Ash Galvanizing and Premier Galvanizing took part in the race: Stuart Cobourne, Justin Deegan and Richard Hall. They enjoyed the event and achieved very respectable times between 5.30 and 7.11 hours.
A Premier Galvanizing client, Stephen Harvey, also took part alongside Justin.
It was touch and go whether Justin would be able to do the race after his bike broke just before the start line. But luckily, a company called Cycle Republic – who had a stand at the event – were on hand to lend him another one.
Justin said: “The race itself was brilliant, the route and crowds were exceptional, and if I could choose between Ride London and Ride Birmingham, I would definitely choose Birmingham. A post ride beer and massage was the perfect way to finish a brilliant event. Are we comng back next year? 100%.”
Congratulations to the team!
You can see some of the photos of our team members at the event here.
Here’s to the Velo Birmingham 2018!
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40 years service for John Thrupp, as well as long-time service achievements for many other members of staff.
In 1977 when Indira Gandhi resigned from office, Concord took its first flight to New York from London, and the Queen celebrated 25 years of reign at her Jubilee Celebrations, John Thrupp joined Joseph Ash Galvanizing. 40 years have passed and we’re pleased to say that John is still with us and probably deserves his own Jubilee type celebration! What an achievement John!
John initially started work at our Birmingham plant as a works office clerk, he then moved into a role as Works Progress Clerk, before being promoted to Shift Supervisor. He then became Materials Controller and when the Birmingham plant closed he transferred to Joseph Ash Walsall to carry out the same role.
Steven Hopkins, Managing Director, and other members of Joseph Ash recently celebrated with John, and said thank you for being a great member of the team.
John is not the only team member from Joseph Ash Galvanizing to have reached a significant milestones at the Company though. In recent months we have also celebrated with:
- Phil Filkins, Joseph Ash Medway, who reached 20 year’s service at the plant in June
- Dean Winfield, Joseph Ash Chesterfield, who reached 30 year’s service in June
- Neil Horton, Joseph Ash Walsall, who reached 25 year’s service in June
- Kevin Hilden, Joseph Ash Medway, who reached 20 year’s service in July
- Sidney Holland, from Joseph Ash Telford who will reach 30 year’s service in August.
Congratulations everyone!
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Congratulations to Gerry Green – 35 year’s service with Joseph Ash Galvanizing.
It’s happened again! Another Joseph Ash Galvanizing team member – Gerry Green – has reached 35 year’s service with the company. This is great news!
Gerry started work at Joseph Ash Galvanizing in 1982 on a temporary contract working in our maintenance department at the Birmingham plant. He made such an impression that he was invited to stay on as a permanent employee and was offered a role in the production environment. Within a couple of years Gerry was promoted to Galvanizing Supervisor and after a further period was promoted to Assistant Divisional Manager, taking a major interest in health and safety issues and maintenance once again.
Further career progression saw Gerry installed as Walsall Divisional Manager in 1996 – a role he continued in until 2002 when he returned to the Birmingham division and took up the post as Birmingham General Manager.
In 1996 Gerry was promoted to Operation Directors, an all-encompassing role that covers all galvanizing operations and transport operations for the whole of Joseph Ash Galvanizing.
Gerry said “My time at Joseph Ash Galvanizing has been very enjoyable and challenging. No two days have ever been the same and the variety of roles has helped to keep up my enthusiasm for the job”.
It’s been a pleasure to have you working with us Gerry. Here’s to many more years!
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