Excellence in Galvanizing
A member of staff at Acrow Galvanizing has made a big splash after teaming up with a charity that aims to provide training and employment opportunities on the back of rebuilding a historic boat.
John Nicholson, Commercial Manager of the Saffron Walden-based plant, has helped raise awareness of the Harwich Mayflower Project by joining forces with the group’s Training and Development Manager Jeff Webber to build a float that scooped second place at last month’s Harwich Guy Carnival in Essex.
The Harwich Mayflower Project is a charitable initiative which is looking to re-establish Harwich as a major maritime centre. The project is centred on recreating a working replica of The Mayflower, a seventeenth century cargo ship that famously sailed the Pilgrims to Massachusetts in the United States of America back in 1620. It also provides training, educational, and even employment opportunities through apprenticeships to local young people.
John and Jeff teamed up to create a float for the carnival which lead the main Mayflower float along the route, and delivered a sense of how the initiative has grown from two men in a boat, to the major project it has quickly become. After carrying their creation for a full three miles throughout the annual parade last month [Thursday 27th October], the judges awarded the vessel second place in the Group 5: Man-Powered Contraptions category.
John Nicholson commented: “The Mayflower Project really is having a huge impact on the local community in Harwich and I’m delighted to be involved with such a worthwhile cause. After our success this year, I can’t wait to have another go in 2013!”
The team at Acrow Galvanizing has also supported the Harwich Mayflower Project by generously galvanizing a 750mm long by 400mm wide steel centre plate on a Drascombe Long Boat, which has been restored for the local Sea Scout unit.
Jeff Webber, Training and Development Manager for the Harwich Mayflower Project, explained: “We aim to regenerate some of the skills that have effectively been lost, and in doing so, provide employment and educational support to develop the youth of Harwich. Our success depends on the support of not just the community, but the generosity of local businesses too, and we’d like to thank John and his colleagues at Acrow Galvanizing for their help.”