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Following on from recent successful ventures where the two companies have worked together, Premier Groundworks Ltd and The Bennie Group have formally joined forces.

Barry Page and Emma Ayres

When making the announcement, Emma Ayres explained, “Premier Groundworks are a well established local firm who have an excellent reputation for service and quality, they also share similar values and culture. We have worked closely with them many times over the years. By combining these businesses I am hoping to strengthen the Group’s groundworks and earthmoving proposition to our customers”. She added “Because of our own reputation for service and quality we have experienced an increasing number of requests to extend our offering to include the groundworks and drainage elements in our tenders”.

Barry Page, Managing Director at Premier Groundworks is looking forward to the new arrangement; he said “For me and my team it can only be good news to be associated with The Bennie Group. We were at the point where we need to move the business on to bigger and better things. It started with us working together on a couple of joint tenders and then to us taking offices at the Group’s head quarters at Burton Latimer and now to this.”

“The recent successful joint tender for the groundworks and engineering package at the new Kettering Science Academy was evidence that bringing Premier and The Bennie Group closer together was going to be good for both businesses.” Barry adds “The main contractor was looking for a complete package of surface and below ground services. By working with Barton Plant, the earthmoving division of the Group, Barton and Premier together were obviously very well placed. Not only have we supplied underground and roadway services with Premier we have been able to provide the ground engineering, waste removal and placement of sub-base materials through Barton Plant. In fact much of the aggregate too, both new and recycled, has been supplied through Peter Bennie the aggregates arm of The Bennie Group”.

The biggest single investment in Boughton Loam for a good few years sees immediate process improvements, but will the purchase of a new Finlay 693 Supertrak screen make them more profitable? That’s what we asked Lee Wesby, Production Manager at Boughton Loam, Telford Way, Kettering.

“There were a number of good reasons for considering a new screen. Starting at the beginning, the soils, cricket loams and specialist growing media were taking a very long time to process using the old equipment because it was just not powerful enough to give us the agitation to breakup and sift the raw material. You have to remember our raw material is soil and is quite moist. Our production capacity was being compromised. We have limited space here and so when we produce it needs to be in relatively short, high volume campaigns.  The kit needs to be powerful, quick and reliable.”

This screen certainly has proved its worth. Production rates are up and the material quality has improved making processes further down the chain more efficient. This has enabled us to reduce the hired in casual labour we use during the peak production periods. It is more fuel efficient and so is cheaper to run and is better environmentally. And if that wasn’t reason enough, it is also easier to operate and safer to use which are also very important.

For more information on Boughton Loam’s comprehensive range of loams, dressing and specialist growing media please click here – Boughton Loam

Spotting the obvious health and environmental benefits 10 people from The Bennie Group have taken up the the Ride2Work scheme. Its a Government sponsored scheme that was introduced to encourage more riding to work as opposed to driving to work. The company effectively lends the money to employees in order to buy the bike but the company and the employee get a serious tax concession in so doing.

The biggest take up so far is in group company Ken Hall Ltd who manufacture orthopedic shoes from their factory in Kettering. The gang of 4 actually do ride their bikes to work. Two riders from the Group head office however have taken it a step further and have used their new bikes to raise over £8000 for charity as part of a company sponsored team. The challenge was for a 4 person team to ride 540 miles in relay from St Malo to Cahors in the foot hills of the Massif Central. Not so much Ride2Work here but rather Ride4Work4Charity.

Will shots on goal be as accurate?

Something for everyone on this site at Brickhill Estate, Bedfordshire. This new housing development for Persimmon Homes and Taylor Wimpey Homes incorporates a number of amenity and biodiversity projects and this is where Barton Plant come in.

Normally when we think of amenities we think of football pitches and woodland walks and these are some of the public features that we have been called in to create.

A Special Friend

This site goes a bit further than that in that the scheme involves biodiversity projects. Woodland mammals and bird life have been considered and so have newts with the creation of ponds, again being constructed by Barton Plant. Often the discovery of the Great Crested Newt can hold up a development for many months. It’s a rare species in Europe and special arrangements have to be made for their protection. Contractors and developers like us have learned to work around them. We hope they will be very happy with their new home…

John Brooks, Nick Lantsbery, Dave Harvey, Bev Roberts

Getting the day off to a great start with a hearty breakfast was the objective at the The Bennie Group headquarters on Friday last week. That and raising money for charity!

The invitation went out to colleagues, customers, suppliers and associates of the company to come along for a special Norfolk style breakfast. It wasn’t cheap mind, at £10 a head it might just be one of the most expensive breakfasts available in the area but the price did included a donation for charity. The event was put together by “Team Bennie” who all work for the business and who are about to embark on a 540 mile cycle challenge through France next week to Cahors. This event was to get things off to a frying start.

The charities being sponsored by this event and the cycle challenge next week include Ride High whom a number at The Bennie Group have been involved with recently. Ride High are a Milton Keynes based organisation who aim to help disadvantaged young people by providing opportunities to care for and work with horses. The charity aims to help develop social and literacy skills and facilitate routes to further education, volunteering and work experience. Some of the youngsters for example come from difficult circumstances and some act as carers for other people.

Courtesy of Northamptonshire Saints

Northampton Saints star Stephen Myler gets a new sponsor in Peter Bennie Ltd this season. The Northamptonshire based quarrying and construction materials firm have a long association with “The Saints” along with its sister company Barton Plant Ltd who are a well know earthmoving and civil engineering business.

Stephen has exceeded 100 appearances at the club and continues to rack up the points with his outstanding kicking skills at fly half.

Stephen also dons the white shirt of the England Saxons from time to time. He is certainly a great player to be associated with and the Company wishes him another high points scoring season in 2011/12.