Shufflebottom helps deliver a high quality space to grow at RYB1

Shufflebottom never fails to feel a sense of pride when our structural steel underpins exciting high quality, low carbon building developments, that meet both aesthetic and sustainability demands.       

Such is the case at the Rhyd Y Blew project (RYB1) at Ebbw Vale, at the heart of what is now termed the ‘Tech Valleys.’ Working with our long-term partners, Jones Bros. Ltd, we were commissioned by them to deliver 264.84 tonnes of hot-rolled steel and 60.17 of cold-rolled steel for a new 52,582 sq. ft. manufacturing unit built by Welsh Government, which is now complete and available to let. The development has been built to BREEAM Excellent standards and designed to minimise embodied carbon within its structure.

The high-profile RYB1 development is a detached unit that offers clear, open industrial production warehouse facilities with open-plan office accommodation to ground and first floor levels and is being marketed by commercial property consultancy, Knight Frank, who are acting on behalf of the Welsh Government.

The building is a prime example of Welsh Government’s commitment to providing high quality, low carbon commercial space to meet the needs of both growing Welsh businesses and those looking to invest in Wales. It is also an illustration of its ongoing contribution to its £100 million Tech Valleys programme which supports its wider economic mission to create a stronger, fairer and greener Wales.

Shufflebottom always feels a sense of satisfaction too when a project is completed. The completed project does not always reflect the challenges sometimes faced, but always overcome, by our dedicated #teamofsteel.

We overcame the challenges of weather on site during the erection phase of the project, especially with the size of the trussed roof. The trusses were therefore made up in segments fabricated in our factory here at Cross Hands, to accommodate this large roof span. The result was a near-perfect fabrication and a minimising of on-site issues often encountered with this scale of requirement.

The angled segment entrance proved an ‘interesting’ challenge too and it was therefore rewarding to get feedback from the architect that we ‘did a great job in achieving the desired look he was after.’

These ‘behind the scenes’ details are not usually the ‘stuff’ read about in PR or marketing releases. But they are the realistic details of what happens on the ground, and our valued commercial, industrial and agricultural customers, love to hear about them and are the reasons why they return to us time and time again for our innovative skills and long-standing expertise.

Images supplied by Jones Bros. Ltd.