A HEREFORD company is celebrating its half century in style – by investing £300,000 in its site.

Hereford Galvanizers has come a long way since it was set up by Archie Phillips and Eric Beasey in the 1960s and is today one of the largest businesses of its kind in the UK.

Based on the Westfields Trading Estate and employing 60 staff, the family firm helps national and overseas customers working with anything from sculptures and blacksmiths to the worlds of construction and agriculture.

Managing Director David Watkins said he is delighted with the progress the company continues to make.

He said: “Last year we galvanized more steelwork at the Hereford plant than in any of our previous 49 years. As for the future, we are making a significant investment this year of over £300,000 at the site including the replacement of the galvanizing kettle, cranes and other improvements to the storage facilities as well as adding new vehicles and trailers to our transport fleet.”

Around 120 staff and customers recently celebrated the company’s anniversary at a dinner at the Left Bank in Hereford, where – among others – Fred Shallcross, the company’s previous MD and now chairman, was present.

He heard that continual investment has seen Hereford Galvanizers’ facilities become among the most modern in the UK equipped with high-tech gas heating, filtration and computer systems which operate around the clock.

The company also aims to provide a fast, efficient galvanizing service to fabricators, manufacturers and specialised customers. The quality of the galvanizing process is such that it protects steel for 30 to 40 years, never needing further protection from corrosion during its lifespan.

These assurances have recently secured the team some intriguing regional projects among its list of large-scale industrial and commercial tasks.

These including galvanizing the support structure of the six bells of Herefordshire's Abbeydore church while extra strong fencing has been coated to house the new adult African elephant at Noah’s Ark Zoo Farm in Wraxall near Bristol.

Those gathered at Left Bank were confident that Hereford Galvinizers would continue to take on challenging jobs for many more years to come.