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Poundfield gives Stoke stacks of storage

Stoke-on-Trent City Council has halved the amount of space it needs to store rock salt for use on roads, by using Poundfield Products’ innovative AlfablocÒ walling system at its Burslem and Stoke depots.

The council had previously used L-shaped concrete walling from another supplier to create storage bays for the salt. However, because of their design, a lot of space was required to store the quantities of rock salt involved – up to 1,600 tonnes at some times of the year.

“Poundfield’s Alfablocs we’re just what we needed because they allow us to make much better use of the land we have available, and they’ve been a great success,” said Paul Clacker, senior enforcement officer at Stoke-on-Trent City Council. “Because they are three metres high and can withstand much greater loads, we’ve been able to halve the space we need to store our salt supply. They’ve enabled us to store the salt up to four metres high at the centre of the bay.”

The design of the blocks has also meant that the council has been able to fit a roof to keep the salt dry at its Burslem depot. “It isn’t absolutely essential for road salt to be dry,” said Paul, “but it does make it easier for us to handle and for our gritters to spread on the roads. So this is of great benefit to us.”

The other major advantage to the council of the Alfablocs is that they are very robust in use. Council workers use JCB telescopic handlers at the bays and with the Alfablocs secured to the ground, there has been absolutely no movement or damage to the retaining wall when the salt is being moved.

“Customers often cite strength as a major selling point in situations like this,” said Chris Maclean at Poundfield Products, “That’s a big attraction for use in storage facilities like these. L-shaped sections aren’t as tall - no more than two metres compared to three or even 3.6 metres for Alfabloc – so you need a lot more land to store a given quantity of material. That’s expensive. Using our products, councils can make much better use of their premises.”

Alfabloc was invented by Mark Jardine, managing director of Poundfield Products, in 1999. It is used extensively by local authorities to construct storage facilities for bulk products.

The Council has used nearly 100 3-metre Alfablocs at its two depots. The upgrade to its facilities was completed in early 2005. “We were so delighted with the performance of the first installation of the Alfablocs, that we had no hesitation in placing a second order,” said Paul.

Email: web@poundfield.com