Marshalls continue expansion with takeover of Gwrhyd Pennant
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Marshalls have continued their expansion in natural stone with the purchase of Gwrhyd Blue Pennant quarry in Swansea.
Thousands of square metres of the stone have been used lately as paving and walling in the regeneration of Swansea (see NSS June issue), including at the entrance of the National Waterfront Museum. Another 6,000m2 of riven paving and 2,000m2 of sawn six sides, the sawing of which had to be sub-contracted because Gwrhyd do not have a saw of their own, has gone to the new Broadmead shopping centre in Bristol, where Marshalls also supplied a variety of stones. And there are more confirmed projects on the way for Gwrhyd that should keep their 30 employees fully occupied for the coming year.
“It seems to be getting better all the time,” says Karen, one of former owner Will Davies’ two daughters who work in the quarry offices. The other is Katie. Karen’s husband, Emyr, is in charge of production. They will all continue to work at the quarry.
The quarry was developed by farmer Will Davies, who now plans to retire to breed highland cattle.
Ian Macdonald, the Managing Director of Marshalls’ natural stone business, which includes Stancliffe in Derbyshire, says they had been looking for a pennant quarry for some time and liked the excellent quality of the stone at Gwrhyd.
The take over of the quarry follows last year’s purchase by Marshalls of the northern sandstone quarries of Ennstone and the purchase of a share of Johnston Quarry Group’s two limestone quarries.
Marshalls, based in Southowram, West Yorkshire, have invested in a lot in machinery to improve the efficiency of their extraction and processing of stone over many years.
As long as planning permission is forthcoming they hope to establish processing facilities in Johnston Quarry Group’s limestone quarries and now also intended to increase the processing capacity at Gwrhyd with what Ian Macdonald describes as some “fairly significant investment” to saw the stone themselves – for use as cladding as well as paving.
He says: “I still think in the long term there’s a greater opportunity for stone to be used on vertical structures.”
He believes its use can be encouraged by more standardisation, especially of fixing, with systems like Marshalls PanAsh and Stone Screen options.
As well as expanding their interests in natural stone resources in the UK, Marshalls are also one of the country’s largest importers of sandstone and granite for hard landscaping.
And since the 1920s, when they started using waste from stone processing to make concrete products, they have also produced alternatives to natural stone. The latest is Arbury, a concrete paving product made using new press technology. The product has a time-worn, weathered quality designed to resemble reclaimed stone.
Thousands of square metres of the stone have been used lately as paving and walling in the regeneration of Swansea (see NSS June issue), including at the entrance of the National Waterfront Museum. Another 6,000m2 of riven paving and 2,000m2 of sawn six sides, the sawing of which had to be sub-contracted because Gwrhyd do not have a saw of their own, has gone to the new Broadmead shopping centre in Bristol, where Marshalls also supplied a variety of stones. And there are more confirmed projects on the way for Gwrhyd that should keep their 30 employees fully occupied for the coming year.
“It seems to be getting better all the time,” says Karen, one of former owner Will Davies’ two daughters who work in the quarry offices. The other is Katie. Karen’s husband, Emyr, is in charge of production. They will all continue to work at the quarry.
The quarry was developed by farmer Will Davies, who now plans to retire to breed highland cattle.
Ian Macdonald, the Managing Director of Marshalls’ natural stone business, which includes Stancliffe in Derbyshire, says they had been looking for a pennant quarry for some time and liked the excellent quality of the stone at Gwrhyd.
The take over of the quarry follows last year’s purchase by Marshalls of the northern sandstone quarries of Ennstone and the purchase of a share of Johnston Quarry Group’s two limestone quarries.
Marshalls, based in Southowram, West Yorkshire, have invested in a lot in machinery to improve the efficiency of their extraction and processing of stone over many years.
As long as planning permission is forthcoming they hope to establish processing facilities in Johnston Quarry Group’s limestone quarries and now also intended to increase the processing capacity at Gwrhyd with what Ian Macdonald describes as some “fairly significant investment” to saw the stone themselves – for use as cladding as well as paving.
He says: “I still think in the long term there’s a greater opportunity for stone to be used on vertical structures.”
He believes its use can be encouraged by more standardisation, especially of fixing, with systems like Marshalls PanAsh and Stone Screen options.
As well as expanding their interests in natural stone resources in the UK, Marshalls are also one of the country’s largest importers of sandstone and granite for hard landscaping.
And since the 1920s, when they started using waste from stone processing to make concrete products, they have also produced alternatives to natural stone. The latest is Arbury, a concrete paving product made using new press technology. The product has a time-worn, weathered quality designed to resemble reclaimed stone.