With a unique range of metalwork finishing services, Highland enables designers, architects and fabricators to create steel structures that represent both form and function: the innovative Colourgalv process blends hot dip galvanizing with powder coating, providing both high performance protection and a choice of hundreds of permutations of colour, texture and finish.

Highland is comprised of two operations: Highland Galvanizers and Highland Colour Coaters. The former was established in Elgin in 1978 to provide a galvanizing service to the north of Scotland, before word of mouth saw the client base steadily expand across the country. To keep up with this demand, a second plant was opened in Cumbernauld in 2002 and the new facility - Highland Colour Coaters - introduced the Colourgalv process for those who wished to achieve a more aesthetically pleasing finish while retaining all the corrosion protective qualities of galvanized metalwork.

Managing Director Geoff Crowley attributes Highland’s ongoing success to its ‘one-stop-shop’ approach: “It is unique in Scotland to have all of this under one roof, and that simplifies things for the customer. I like to say that there’s only one backside to kick if something goes wrong!”

Fortunately this is not a measure that has to be employed very often! Highland has a long-standing reputation for quality and reliability and a growing list of very satisfied customers from across industry.

The company’s strategy has always been to cast as wide a net as possible and not be too reliant on any one sector or on a small cluster of key customers – Highland currently maintains relationships with more than 1,500 account holders.

“Not only that, but through being the only Akzo Nobel/Interpon approved applicator in Scotland for powder coating onto galvanized steel allows us to offer a quality of service second to none.”

Highland’s broad appeal is supported by the fact that process has very diverse applications, explained Crowley: “All steel needs some form of corrosion protection, and as galvanizing offers excellent results it appeals to the whole spectrum of industry. The only drawback is that it is not very aesthetically pleasing on its own; it looks very industrial. Used in combination with Colourgalv, however, we can offer hundreds of permutations of colours, textures, gloss levels and finishes, and metalwork can be matched perfectly to the application and environment. It is an important element of a finished project – colour influences mood, and has a significant effect on people’s response to a structure.”

Colourgalv’s potential use is limited only by size, but as the acceptable range for the process is 7m x 3m x 1.2m most jobs can easily be accommodated. To date, projects have included furniture, street furniture, fencing, construction and architectural steelwork, and agriculture. Transport infrastructure projects have also been highly successful, with Colourgalv anti-graffiti coating used by the London Underground, for example. Public art too has introduced some interesting projects, with Highland undertaking steelwork for renowned Glasgow-based artist Andy Scott.

Highland has further broadened its customer base with the introduction of an innovative refurbishment technique that can extend the life of existing steel structures, even where some corrosion has already occurred. Having tested the technique on a fencing project in partnership with East Lothian Council, Highland is currently promoting this new service to other local authorities, to a very positive response - the project in East Lothian had after all saved money and boosted the Council’s sustainability credentials by preserving existing metalwork, and further protected the steel from corrosion for another 50 years.

Highland is committed to maintaining its position at the forefront of the industry through a dedicated program of investment – plans are in place to relocate the office to allow for expansion of the production facilities at Cumbernauld, which will also ultimately accommodate recruitment as required, adding to the current team of 70 in Cumbernauld and 35 in Elgin.

Geoff Crowley is confident that growth will be steady, despite the current economic situation: “There is still a huge market in Scotland. Pre-recession, we estimated that around 5,000 tonnes of steel a week is fabricated into something suitable for galvanising, and of that probably only 800 or 900 tonnes is handled by any of the companies in Scotland. That is not a very deep market penetration - there is a lot of potential and we want to be the ones to realise it. And on top of that there is the huge potential for Colourgalv.

“Ultimately we also aim to progress into the market in the north east of England,” he added. “We can draw on the experience of working at distance from the customer that we gained when we had a single site in Elgin and a broad customer base in central Scotland, and eventually we might follow our previous model to its conclusion and open a facility south of the border. We know there is demand for the type and quality of service that we offer so the opportunity is definitely there.”

www.highgalv.co.uk

Katy Shields