Hampden Stadium ready for the Commonwealth Games

With the Commonwealth Games taking place this month, we’re relieved to hear that Hampden Stadium, which was once Scotland’s national football stadium, is now ready for the event which starts on 23 July.

Hampden Park venue will be the focal point for the event, which lasts for seven days. The Games will involve almost 50 track and field disciplines, which will be competed by more than 1,000 athletes.

We were interested in how the transformation from football to athletics stadium took place, especially as we supply our own sports surfacing product, the popular Cloburn Red Granite Cresta™. To transform the stadium, eight rows of seats were removed, and the surface was raised around two metres so that it had the correct dimensions for an athletics track.

Contractors then added an infield with freshly-cut grass, which has been placed on a temporary deck. The deck is a construction masterpiece which consists of a whopping 1,000 base panels which are supported by over 6000 steel stilts.

Glasgow 2014 Chief executive David Grevemberg was impressed with the work when he visited at the end of last month.  He told reporters;

"The spectacular transformation of Hampden Park from iconic football stadium to world-class athletics venue is an achievement of which Glasgow and Scotland can be justifiably proud.

"The completion of Hampden marks a very special moment in our journey to the starting line of what will be the biggest and best sporting festival Scotland has ever hosted."

It needed to be impressive of course; the crowd is expected to top 40,000 and organisers expect the Games to be watched by more than one billion people around the world.

The new track was tested by Team Scotland athlete Eilish McColgan who spoke about her excitement at hearing the ‘Hampden Roar’ from the Scottish athletics fans.

"Having the 'Hampden Roar' behind me as I push down the home straight will be a once-in-a-lifetime experience and I can't wait to give it my all and do my very best."

The running tracks will be relocated once the Games have closed, giving even more Scottish athletes a chance to train on a landmark track, and providing a legacy of the 2014 Games.

We know that everyone, whether competing in an International event or playing football for the school team, wants their sporting experience to be a good one – and Cloburn’s Red Granite Cresta™ is a popular solution for tennis courts, running tracks and football pitches.

Good news for Scottish exporters

Here at Cloburn, a major part of our business come from export, and we like to think that we’re a small part of the reason for the upturn in Scottish exports in recent years!  The Scottish Government has announced an ambitious target of increasing the value of Scottish exports by 50 per cent on 2011 levels to reach £33 billion by 2017, so export is a big subject for businesses at the moment.

We were interested to hear about the debate about how to encourage Scottish manufacturers to export more of their goods.  A review, which was published by the UK government, has recommended creating a signpost agency to all the advice and guidance needed, which would help companies who wanted to export their goods get easy and accurate access to the advice and support they need.

It’s always easier when the different agencies involved in a process like exports can work together, so on the face of it, this seems like a good idea.

One of the conclusions was that all agencies offering support to exporters really needed to sort themselves out and collaborate better, in order to give the companies who wanted to export their goods  a better service, and said that a ‘clear and comprehensible’ framework was needed, to give companies clear guidelines and better structure.

So, what’s the problem with the existing system? The fact that Scotland’s export market is doing so well would seem to show that we’re managing pretty well without any new government initiatives, but there is a lot of red tape involved and it can be daunting for new businesses trying to navigate all the regulations.

Brian Wilson, Chairman of Harris Tweed Hebrides (and UK business ambassador ) said that he thought the present system was too fragmented and that many companies were confused about who they needed to ask for advice on how to go about selling their products to an international market.  He suggested a brand new collaboration, called Scottish Exports, which would be the first port of call for anyone who wanted to export
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This ‘front door’ to advice would be a  partnership between Scottish Development International, UK Trade and Investment and the private sector, and it would be set up to make sure that companies were signposted to the right agency for their particular needs, which would avoid time wasting enquiries and unnecessary confusion.

What do you think? Would yet another agency just confuse things even more, or is it a good idea to have one place to go, which can then refer you on to someone else – the right agency - if necessary?

World Cup Fever!

It’s FIFA World Cup time - starting next week, and even though we didn't qualify this time around, we'll still be glued to it.

There have been a lot of stories in the media about the construction work on the stadiums for the games, in fact some reports are still saying that it’s not going to be ready for the big opening game on 12th June, but we’re sure that they’ll pull it out of the bag and surprise us all. Even if just last month, construction company Odebrecht were on record as saying that the roof at the Itaquerao stadium will only be completed after the World Cup. Oops.

According to reports, the pitches are looking good anyway, even though so far they’ve only had to stand up to kick-about matches between construction workers. Time will tell; we’ll be watching as many games as we can. We would have loved to have been chosen as a supplier for the pitch material, although that might have been a bit of a long shot for such a massive International event.

Our Red Granite Cresta™ is really popular with organisations building sports facilities, as it’s great for running tracks, tennis courts (it’ll be Wimbledon soon, too) and of course, football pitches. Back in the old days, the Scottish solution for football pitches was a type of colliery waste called blaes, but technology has moved on and we’ve produced a professional product which unlike its predecessor, won’t turn into mud when it rains!

Cloburn Red Granite Cresta™ is produced from hardy, super-strong granite that’s designed to withstand the wear and tear of tough sporting events, and another bonus is that it needs hardly any maintenance at all, except some occasional rolling, so you don’t have to make sure that it’s still useable after another bout of terrible weather. It’s cost-effective, making it another good choice especially for local authorities and schools, and of course it has the striking natural red colouring that improves over time, which we think adds a real touch of class to any surface. We think it would have looked fabulous in Brazil, but never mind.

Enjoy the football!

What makes Cloburn so special?

Cloburn Quarry is special in itself; rock has been commercially extracted here since 1896 - originally to provide track ballast for new railway lines.

Cloburn Quarry Limited was established in 1982, and we’ve been working hard ever since to provide the products that people really want, rather than the products we think we can sell.

We came to the business with absolutely no preconceptions about how a quarry should be run, and researched the industry thoroughly to find out what was needed, what the best equipment for the task was, and how to sell our specially-created product ranges. As a result, we’re now proud owners of a truly individual quarrying company, producing unique products that people really want, and using specialist plant equipment, some of which isn’t found anywhere else in the UK.

Where we’ve really turned the business on its head is by designing and creating specific products to meet consumer and business needs, rather than just figuring out ways to market by-products of the granite products we already quarry. For example, our Granitsand isn’t simply left over sand from the quarrying process, like traditional bedding sand, but in fact it’s a completely new product that’s manufactured specifically for a need we’ve pinpointed in the construction market.

Most bedding sands are soft, pliable and of course very easy to source. It’s been a standard product sold for many years, but we didn’t want to simply carry on producing a product that had well known disadvantages; yes it was easy to use due to its pliability, but that pliability also meant a loss of durability. We knew there was a demand for a strong, hard bedding sand type product made specifically from hard rock which would provide long-lasting results.

We’re constantly researching new products, and the market, so that we keep on top of construction news and trends, and listen to our customers’ needs. It’s one of the reasons for our success and keeps everything fresh and interesting for us – and for the members of staff who’ve been with us since we started.

We’ve had team members at Cloburn since day one, and we think this incredibly low turnover is another reason for our success.  Our whole team lives and breathes the Cloburn ethos, and works hard to carry the business forward.

What is GranitSand?

Along with our wide range of other aggregates, we also sell bedding sand or Granitsand here at Cloburn, which has a huge variety of domestic and industrial uses. If you’re thinking of doing a little DIY over the spring, you might consider using some of this versatile material in your next project?

Granitsand is a hardy type of aggregate that’s made by crushing hard rock from our quarries into sand sized particles via mechanical compression. Some quarries sell bedding sand which is a by-product of the mining process; we don’t.  We manufacture Granitsand here at Cloburn and sell it as a durable, hardy dry landscaping material. It produces a wear-resistant matrix for commercial grade concrete flooring, slabs and patios.

Some patios and driveways can be prone to depression and unevenness, because the bedding sand they are laid on is soft and pliable. It makes laying the slabs easy, but in the long term it can lead to loss of durability. The unique features of Granitsand mean that it doesn’t degrade, it’s extremely low maintenance, and it also has the advantage of being very attractive with its distinctive red colour.

Bedding sand

Traditionally, bedding sand is often used in landscaping to create an even, level surface ready for DIY projects to be carried out. The existing soil is removed with a shovel, anything from a few inches to over a foot, depending on the size of the project. Bedding sand is then put on top of the remaining soil, or a gravel base.

Bedding sand is often used by people who are landscaping paving stones or patios in their gardens, where an inch or so will usually suffice for the job. Don’t confuse bedding sand with joint sand however; joint sand is completely different and should be placed in between the stones rather than underneath the patio.

Why is Granitsand so different?

What makes Granitsand different is that nobody else makes it like we do! We manufacture it from some of the strongest rocks in Europe, and we make it using a specific process, so that it won’t deform under compression, whether it’s from people or even cars – that’s why it’s preferred bedding sand in UK and Europe.

For more information about uses for Granitsand, give our friendly team a call.

You could be walking on a Cloburn walkway!

Are you heading off to Europe for a romantic city break this spring? Perhaps you’ve booked a weekend in Amsterdam, and you’re anticipating lots of leisurely walking along the canals, over the bridges, stopping off in a café or two and taking in the scenery?

Well, it’s highly likely if you go sightseeing in some of Europe’s biggest and most popular cities that you could well be walking on a pavement that’s been created with Cloburn red aggregate.

Our products have been proving very popular with our European clients in recent years, and indeed Cloburn red aggregates have been used extensively in Holland and Germany, where they are favoured because they offer an attractive alternative, the distinctive textured red surface that looks fabulous on concrete paving blocks and also provides a long lasting and comfortable walking surface.

Cities like Amsterdam need to make sure that their walkways are durable as well as good looking – the amount of tourism necessitates attention to quality and detail. Planners have found out that exposed aggregate block paving has many advantages over standard  paving blocks which have been unnaturally pigmented to provide a good colour; Cloburn red aggregates are actually guaranteed to keep their strong red shade for life, and in fact over time, as the colour intensifies rather than fades, it will look better.

Practicalities such as an increased surface area for people to walk (and cycle) on also mean that the blocks stay clean for much longer, even without the famed cleanliness of some European cities. No chewing gum on their pavement, thank you very much!

Cloburn red aggregate also provides a safer, non-slip walkway that’s pleasant and comfortable to walk on, which makes them even more popular with tourism-friendly local authorities who are always keen to encourage more people into their towns and cities.

So, as you walk the streets of your favourite European city this summer, look down at the pavement and you might well find a little piece of Scotland on the ground beneath you!

For more information on Cloburn’s range of aggregates, please feel free to contact us.

Spruce up your garden for spring

The Easter bank holiday is traditionally the time of year when people start to think about upgrading their home and garden – and it’s the perfect time to consider the exterior of your property, whether you’re thinking about a nice landscaped garden or perhaps an attractive new driveway to impress the neighbours with!

Cloburn’s range of decorative red aggregates are the perfect choice for a completely new look – and the distinctive red hue will stay looking good for many years to come, too. If you just feel like adding a little bit of colour to existing pathways in your garden, just imagine how good it will look with bright red crushed granite chippings to really make those paths stand out. With a neatly trimmed lawn, a few well-placed garden ornaments and the spring flowers and shrubs starting to peek through, the garden will be an area you’ll be proud of and want to spend as much time in as you can over the spring and summer months. Just think of all the barbecues you can have to show off your newly spruced up garden!

For a new driveway, Cloburn’s attractive red aggregate will give you a fresh, modern look along with the strength you need in a functional driveway. Once it has been laid, it’s virtually maintenance free, and there are no worries about colours fading as the natural shade actually intensifies over time, unlike dyed aggregates which tend to fade and look tired after a while. So you can enjoy a pristine looking driveway for many years to come – well, as long as you take good care of it of course.

For domestic landscaping we recommend our 20mm driveway chippings, which you can even order online, or our 14mm chippings which have proved to be very popular with gardeners and landscapers for use in garden design – particularly for areas like rockeries where good drainage is essential.

You can make designs on a fabulous new look garden or the classy driveway you’ve always wanted with the help of some great quality (and very good value) Cloburn Quarry red aggregate. We’ll deliver straight to your door, too! Just give us a call at Cloburn Quarry and we’ll be happy to help and advise you on the best solution for you.

Have a wonderful Easter break!