Councils receive a double offer – beat the winter white-out... and save cash!Local authorities are being offered help in keeping Britain’s road network open this winter – in a move that could also help respond to the Government’s severe austerity measures. Structure specialist De Boer is urging councils to make greater use of salt barns – potentially in partnership with neighbouring authorities – in order to be ready for any repeat of last winter’s white-out. The move would offer greater flexibility to highways teams but would also enable them to switch from marine salt, which is widely used, to cheaper rock salt, which is frequently shunned because of being difficult to store in the open air. The change could save hundreds of pounds from every salt run, making the temporary storage facilities self-funding – and generating considerable long-term savings for councils. Robert Alvarez, De Boer’s Sales Director – Commercial, said: “There are significant operational benefits to using covered salt as externally stored salt will absorb moisture resulting in clumping and, potentially, freezing at the very time you need it most.” He added: “Critically, covered supplies can utilise rock salt, which is roughly £10 a tonne cheaper than outside stored marine salt. Even a relatively simple salt run can consume 40 tonnes and some authorities are using up to 16,000 tonnes every year. “At this level of consumption, a salt barn can be self funding within a couple of years – and can then contribute significant budget savings for councils.” De Boer, which is a long-established supplier of temporary and semi-permanent accommodation to the commercial sector, has already secured considerable business from supplying salt barns. The company’s All Weather Hall, which was designed specifically to withstand severe Scandinavian winters, has been used by councils and government departments across Europe for a wide range of storage purposes – from salt and minerals to vehicles, plant and machinery. The structure is re-locatable and re-usable and is available with a clearspan width of up to 50 metres. It even comes with optional additional features such as roller-shutter doors, mechanical extraction systems and advanced lighting and security. Here in the UK, unitary authorities in the Heads of the Valleys area of South Wales, led by Blaenau Gwent County Borough Council, are currently creating a shared salt barn with total capacity of 10,000 tonnes. The De Boer-built facility measures 30 metres by 44 metres, providing much-needed additional storage and is ideally located in a central position covering some of Britain’s highest and more exposed towns and villages. As well as offering financial benefits at a time of central and local government cutbacks, salt barns provide safety advantages for highways staff, according to De Boer. Robert Alvarez explained: “We have heard reports of crews using pry-bars to break up lumps of salt within gritters, a practice that takes time, may not always be carried out in a safe and controlled manner and inevitably damages the gritter as crews attack the salt clumps with a long steel bar. Storing salt internally helps keep it in a much better condition.” 12 July 2010 About De Boer:De Boer is one of the leading international suppliers of temporary accommodation for large events and festivals, storage purposes, airport baggage handling and supermarkets. De Boer was established in 1924 and is headquartered in Alkmaar, The Netherlands. The company now has offices in The Netherlands, Germany, the United Kingdom, Belgium, Austria, France, Spain, Sweden and Dubai. De Boer is also represented in Qatar, Russia, China and the USA. It employs more than 350 people internationally and during high season another 150 temporary workers are deployed. NPM Capital has been major shareholder since August 2005. www.deboer.com MEDIA CONTACT: PAUL SMITH ASSOCIATES
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An All Weather Hall in use for salt storage.
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