Author: Siobhan Martin

Andy Neal, Managing Director of IG Masonry Support, has revealed how he is helping address the current recruitment crisis by working closely with local Swadlincote secondary school, The Pingle Academy, after signing up to take part in a local careers network.

Starting around two years ago, Andy joined the D2N2 Derbyshire South Careers Hub as an enterprise adviser. Enterprise advisers consist of experienced professionals from companies and who work closely with career leaders and senior leadership teams in schools and colleges across Derby and South Derbyshire.

Since taking on the role, IG Masonry Support has taken on three school-leavers who have been given a variety of roles within the business.

Andy, passionate about supporting the education sector said: “Being an enterprise adviser has opened my eyes to the opportunities that exist for firms through working with their local schools and helped us to explain the wide variety of roles that we offer across the company, including HR and finance, as well as the manufacturing side of what we do.

“We have struggled to recruit talented young people in the past, but within days of a school visit, I received three emails from students asking about employment.

“There is a shortfall of engineers in the UK, especially locally, so having these links is great for us, while our staff are getting a lot of enjoyment out of working with the Pingle Academy – especially those members of staff who used to go there.”

The D2N2 Derbyshire South Careers Hub is part of a national programme being run by the Careers & Enterprise Company funded by the Department for Education.

The work of Andy as an enterprise adviser is just one in a series of activities being carried out by IG Masonry Support to help support the education sector. If your education facility is in need of knowledge sharing, employment opportunities or materials to support practical elements of your construction courses, get in touch.

 

Photo caption: From left, Liam Jackson, enterprise coordinator at D2N2 Careers Hub, Seleena Creedon, enterprise adviser from Credo Marketing, Will Morlidge, chief executive officer (CEO) of D2N2 Local Enterprise Partnership, Andy Neal, managing director of IG Masonry Support, and Helen Guyatt, enterprise coordinator at D2N2 Careers Hub.

Photo credit: Penguin PR

The annual Brick Development Association Brick Awards are back for 2022, and IG Masonry Support is proud to be this year’s Supreme Award sponsor.

The Awards is one of the most prestigious brick architecture awards in the UK. It celebrates the very best examples of clay in the UK’s built environment and attracts a large number of exemplary projects from leading architects, housebuilders, developers and contractors, across 17 categories. Three new judges have also been welcomed to the panel for 2022.

This year, IG Masonry Support is the Platinum Sponsor and will be presenting the Supreme Award, the highest accolade the competition bestows and as such, the most coveted of the Brick Awards.

With the shortlist being announced in June, we are delighted to see we have supplied our products to 15 of the shortlisted projects. These include:

Small Housing Development

• Oxbourne House
• Mountbatten Court

Medium Housing Development

• 79 Fitzjohn’s Avenue
• Stone Studios

Large Housing Development

• Good Luck Hope

Education

• Headington Hive
• Radley College Chapel Extension
• Royal College of Art Battersea Campus
• The Christie Centre

Innovation

• Royal College of Art Battersea Campus

Urban Regeneration

• Neptune Wharf at Fish Island Village

Public

• Gunnersbury Cemetery

Craftsmanship

• 79 Fitzjohn’s Avenue
• E20 (BBC Eastenders Site)
• Radley College Chapel Extension

Worldwide

• Annesley Gardens
• Borough Yards

Specialist Brickwork Contractor

• Phoenix Brickwork (UK) Ltd for BCU Steamhouse
• Lee Marley Brickwork Limited for 79 Fitzjohn’s Avenue
• Lee Marley Brickwork Limited for E20 (BBC Eastenders Site)
• Swift Brickwork Contractors Limited for Royal College of Art Battersea Campus

All of these buildings evidently demonstrate the craftsmanship and design value that can be achieved in brick – one of our oldest and most durable building materials. You can explore all of the shortlisted projects here.

“We take great pride in the quality and craftsmanship of our products and we are pleased to be sponsoring the highest accolade for 2022. This Award, which cannot be directly entered for, singles out the most impressive project from all of the category winners” said Scott Denham, Sales Director of IG Masonry Support.

“We are delighted to have produced brickwork solutions to a total of 14 projects shortlisted at this year’s Brick Awards, demonstrating our commitment to achieving engineering excellence with offsite craftsmanship.

On behalf of everyone at IG Masonry Support, I would like to wish all the finalists the best of luck and look forward to seeing them at the Awards.”

The award ceremony will take place on Thursday 10^th November 2022 at the Royal Lancaster Hotel in London.

The Keystone Group has appointed a new Group Sustainability Manager to help build decarbonisation into all business operations.

Jemma Ison, who is also Specification Executive for IG Masonry Support, has been with the Group for five years and has played an integral part in developing Keystone’s Sustainability Strategy.  which is based on three key sustainability pillars: ‘Our Nature’, ‘Our Resources’ and ‘Our People’.

In her new role, Jemma has been invited to join the NHBC Foundation Expert Panel and also to work with BSI to support the development of sustainability criteria for construction materials. This will provide clarity to the industry of high quality but low environmental impact products.

Under the Science Based Targets Initiative, a global organisation responsible for setting the world’s targets to ensure a more sustainable future, Keystone has embarked on a journey of monitoring and improving its carbon emissions and has committed to the ambitious target of becoming Net Zero by 2050.

As part of this journey, Keystone’s Sustainability Taskforce, comprised of a ‘Sustainability Champion’ from each business, is working through the identification of Scope 1, 2 and 3 emissions to provide clarity on the environmental impact of Keystone Group operations and raise opportunities for carbon reductions throughout the organisation.

As the first step towards the creation of this strategy, Keystone’s Sustainability Taskforce is currently working with Carbon Footprint to help measure the scope of carbon consumption across the Group. Once this is determined, Keystone will affectively measure improvements against this benchmark going forward.

Jemma Ison, Keystone Group Sustainability Manager, says: “Sustainability is a topic I am extremely passional about – both professionally and personally. Keystone is committed to reducing the environmental impact of all Group operations through continued reduction of its carbon footprint and I am focused on helping the business achieve Net Zero by 2050.

“In 2021, I led the implementation of IG Masonry Support’s Sustainability Strategy by looking for ways to decarbonise our operations as well as offsetting our emissions to achieve carbon neutral status. I am looking forward to drawing on the learnings of last year to help support all Keystone Group brands on their sustainability journeys.”

Sean Og Coyle, Keystone Group Commercial Director, adds: “Due to the fantastic progress of IG Masonry Support in its sustainability objectives and the leadership Jemma has shown in the area of sustainability, I am delighted to add the title of ‘Keystone Group Sustainability Manager’ to Jemma’s current role.

We hope this latest appointment exemplifies Keystone’s commitment to lead the way with innovation in construction and sustainable performance. The Group is passionate about investing in our sustainability strategy and implementing affirmative action, to safeguard our future for all.”

Clerkenwell Design Week is almost here and this year, IG Masonry Support will be there. 

Running from 24th-26th May, Clerkenwell Design Week is renowned for being the UK’s leading independent design festival and annually attracts the international design community to this small area of London for three days of exciting events.

This year, join Jemma Ison, IG Masonry Support’s Specification Executive, to find out about the process behind creating a new Gin Palace for Hendrick’s on the West Coast of Scotland.

Brick feature arches played an important part in the architect’s vision for this state of the art project and our technical team created effective solutions for achieving these arches on the front facade as well as deep soffit arches inside the building.

Jemma will outline the intricate technical challenges inherent in completing this elegant scheme, accompanied by refreshments supplied by Hendrick’s themselves!

Venue: EH Smith Design Centre, 38-42 St. John Street, Clerkenwell, London, EX1M 4DL
Date: Thursday 26th May 2022
Time: 5pm – 6pm

To book your place at this event, visit eventbrite.

IG Masonry Support are now proud sponsors of one of Co. Antrim’s GAA football teams, St Ergnats GAC, based in Moneyglass.

Since inception, IG Masonry Support have had proud association with many local community teams, groups and education facilities and are continually on the lookout for opportunities to add value in areas where development for the younger generation is offered.

St Ergnats are currently undertaking major developments to build a second pitch which will meet the demand for their 20 different teams with 250 members playing Gaelic football, camogie and juvenile hurling. IG Masonry Support were delighted to provide the team with their strips for the next two years.

John Melarkey, Coach of the St Ergnats team are delighted with the new sponsorship and said: “The sponsorship of our team by IG Masonry Support is really appreciated. It truly demonstrates that they support the investment the club is making in our young people, on and off the pitch.”

Paul Graham, General Manager of IG Masonry Support and Cathal McShane, Tyrone GAA ‘All Star’ and Specification Executive at the Keystone Group invited John and some members of the team along to present them with their new strips, proudly showcasing the business logo.

Paul said: “IG Masonry Support are fully committed to adding value to our local communities. We are extremely proud to be associated with the P4 & 5 team and supporting their ambitious plans for a second pitch to meet the demand of all the St Ergnat’s teams.”

The club hopes to play its first game on the ground in 2023 to coincide with its 75th anniversary.

 

The annual Brick Development Association Brick Awards have returned for 2022, and IG Masonry Support are proud to be platinum sponsors of the ‘Supreme Award’, the Awards’ ultimate category.

With an established reputation as one of the industry’s most respected and well attended events, the Awards celebrate the best examples of clay brick in the built environment. Each year, they attract the entry of exemplary projects from leading architects, housebuilders, developers and contractors across 18 hotly contested categories.

The ‘Supreme Award’ is the highest accolade offered by the Brick Awards and recognises exemplary planning, design, construction and overall satisfaction of brief. Lambeth Palace Library, winner of the Award in 2021 has set the precedence for 2022 and we were delighted for the whole project team including IG Masonry Support who supplied a number of products to the project.

Scott Denham, Sales Director of IG Masonry Support said: “We are delighted to be continuing our longstanding sponsorship of the Brick Awards. By choosing to be a platinum sponsor this year, we will be recognising the highest honour of ‘Supreme Award’.

The Awards are exciting to be a part of. We truly encourage architects, housebuilders, developers and contractors to enter their projects and we look forward to seeing the innovative designs for this year.”

The Brick Awards ceremony will take place on 10 November 2022 at the Royal Lancaster Hotel, London. The deadline for entries is 20 May 2022.

To enter the Brick Awards 2022, go to brick.org.uk/brick-awards.

IG Masonry Support are delighted to announce that we have been shortlisted within the ‘Product Innovation Category’ in this year’s Irish Construction Excellence (ICE) Awards.

The ICE Awards, established by Irish Building Magazine, are described as ‘the original and premier recognition of performance excellence for the contracting sector in Ireland’. The aim of the competition is to provide an opportunity for the industry to highlight best performance across the full range of construction disciplines and project categories.

Our B.O.S.S. A1 (Brick on Soffit System) has put us in contention within the Product Innovation Category against some stiff competition including two of Keystone Group’s own brands, Keyfix and Keylite.

View our entry on the Irish Construction Excellence Awards website.

Finalists have been invited to a Gala Dinner on 14 May in Dublin to learn their fate in the Awards.

To celebrate National Apprenticeship Week 2022, we have caught up with apprentices, trainees and key influencers within our business to understand how they are utilising or benefiting from the educational elements on offer from IG Masonry Support.

Nikita Johnson, Trainee Technical Detailer

Charlie Wood, Apprentice Estimating Engineer

Faye Mondesir, HR Business Partner

Katie Bowen, Apprentice Sales Support Coordinator

National Apprenticeship Week 2022 runs from 7th February – 13th February and is an opportunity to celebrate the apprenticeship community, promote the benefits of apprenticeships, and showcase the resilience of apprentices and employers during the pandemic.

IG Masonry Support offers a number of educational opportunities for schools, colleges and those ready for work. If you’re interested in engaging with the business on an educational level, contact support@igmasonrysupport.com.