Keywords
Citation
(1999), "Guaranteeing UK's largest car park", Anti-Corrosion Methods and Materials, Vol. 46 No. 5. https://doi.org/10.1108/acmm.1999.12846eab.010
Publisher
:Emerald Group Publishing Limited
Copyright © 1999, MCB UP Limited
Guaranteeing UK's largest car park
Methods
Guaranteeing UK's largest car park
Keywords Joseph Ash Galvanizing, Powder coatings, Galvanising, Corrosion prevention
A London-based company is helping to ensure the long-term life of what is probably the UK's - and Europe's - largest car park.
Four three-storey buildings - providing a total of 16,000 spaces, plus additional surface car parks adding a further 5,000 spaces - serve the millions of shoppers visiting the vast Blue Water Shopping Centre, near Greenhithe in Kent, built for Lend Lease by Bovis and Blue Water Management Construction.
Seven-and-a-half miles of hand-railing, plus faµade metalwork inside the car parks, ground floor decorative screening and balustrading on the upper floors, are all galvanized by Joseph Ash Galvanizing, on behalf of SWE Contract Engineering.
Joseph Ash was called in at an early stage by SWE Contract Engineering Managing Director Steve Willey to work with architects, Benay, to ensure a high quality of galvanizing and colour-fast powder coated paint finish, which would ensure that a 25-year guarantee could be given.
All the mild steel used had low silicon levels guaranteed by British Steel, ensuring no uneven build-up of zinc which would mar the aesthetics of the finished surface.
"We had to produce a much more refined cosmetic finish. Over the years, metal substrates have not been even, leading to imperfections. We worked with Joseph Ash and British Steel to overcome this," added Mr Willey.
Having pulled the specialist team together, Mr Willey then sought the input of the Galvanizers' Association whose director, Murray Crook, inspected the results. "It was very reassuring when he qualified what we had been saying and doing," said Mr Willey.
Brian Finch, marketing director of Joseph Ash, said: "We are delighted that we played a part in ensuring that the customer was presented with what they were expecting - confirming the importance of sound customer relationships - and that it is doing its job in front of tens of millions of visitors".
Details available from Joseph Ash Galvanizing. Tel: +44 (0)171 987 5070.