“I decided to give it a try for the summer, and have still not
made my mind up.”
Bryon Askey after 44 years’ service with Bardon
Aggregates
People have come and gone, but for those that
stay – some for a very long time – they have been vital to this
business.
When Aggregate Industries came into being, we employed around
3,000 people in the UK – now, in 2007, we have more than 6,600
people across five countries. With more people comes more
responsibility. Safety has always been at the heart of where we
work. Although we can show year on year improvement, focus remains
on making our workplaces safer and our people healthier.
In 2007, a new health and safety champion was born – OSCAR
(Observant, Safety Conscious and Avoid Risks) – which will be
featured in a number of ways, to bring to life the behaviour and
attitudes we need if we are to continue to improve. Following a
very popular design competition among staff and their families, the
character created by Bardon Concrete’s Dave Morris was chosen and
OSCAR made his first appearance in the 2008 calendar received by
all staff.
Traditionally an industry dominated by white men, our attention
is now on the promotion of job opportunities to the next generation
of Aggregate Industries employees – who may come from any culture
and background. We work in all weathers, on the street laying new
roads, in factories, alone and in teams, and in offices which
service the business and support the customer. As a consequence, we
need all sorts of people with the right skills.