Excellence in Galvanizing
The plant has opened the doors of its Maclellan Street facility to 45 chemistry students and four teachers from the Belmont Academy in Ayrshire, giving them the opportunity to find out more about the processes involved in galvanizing, where steel is dipped into molten zinc at temperatures of up to 450°C to provide a long-lasting protective coating against rust and corrosion.
The youngsters, who were chosen to take part in the visit as a reward for being the best Standard Grade Chemistry performers amongst the school’s more than 1,200 pupils, were treated to a full tour of the plant – including seeing steel actually being dipped into a galvanizing bath – as well a presentation by Regional Director Andrew Haworth and Group Process Director Bob Duxbury.
At the end of the tour, the students were also given the opportunity to take away their safety wear, including high-visibility vests, hard hats and safety glasses.
Paul Tait, Commercial Manager of Scottish Galvanizers, explained: “We were thrilled to invite the chemistry students to tour our facility once again, this being the fourth year now where we’ve had the pleasure of welcoming our visitors from Belmont Academy. It’s a really great way for the youngsters to learn a little bit more about what we do and the galvanizing process, and they had a real interest in our operations, with lots of excellent questions to ask.”
Jeanette Brennan, Principal Teacher of Chemistry at the Belmont Academy, commented. “Our pupils and teachers thoroughly enjoyed the tour and it was a fantastic opportunity for them to see first-hand practical examples of some of the theories they study in the classroom. We’d like to thank Scottish Galvanizers again for the incredible hospitality shown to us all and for the effort the team made in creating such a wonderful experience and for the generosity in providing our students with their own safety souvenirs to take away!”
