Lightning Protection Division Breaks £1M Turnover

The recently formed lightning protection division of Churchill Specialist Contracting Ltd has for the first time achieved a turnover of over £1M during 2012.

The growth of the division saw seven new full time employees join the business during 2012 a year that saw the business open several new areas of business whilst continuing to thrive of the success of the steeplejack and access division formed in 1994.

NVQ Qualifications Represent the Future for Construction

The ability to prove the competency of an individual to safely carry out a specific task has long been a problem in Construction which no scheme or card system has been capable of solving, however construction based NVQ's at last achieve this goal simply by removing grey areas and proving an individuals competency.

A CSCS card without an NVQ qualification has never been and never will be a way of proving competency, yet Blue Chip organisations and UK's largest construction companies continue to display a lethargic and in some cases a reluctance to embrace NVQ qualifications...Why?

The truth is that obtaining NVQ's in many of the specialist trades is not always readily available with a lack of A1 qualified assessors and costs associated with the obtaining the qualification which is often in the region of £2000 both individuals and companies are reluctant to invest in individuals.

Until this investment arrives or the the larger companies begin to pressurise sub contractors for an NVQ qualification as a minimum requirement, goals such as Balfour Beatty's Zero Harm by 2012 will remain pie in the sky and totally unacheivable.

Churchill’s Expand in to the Rail Sector

Churchill Specialist Contracting Ltd is a multi disciplined contracting organisation specialising in the Lightning Protection, Earthing, Surge Protection and Working at Height sectors who wish to expand these specialist services into the Rail Sector.

Operating from our centrally based HQ in Nottingham we currently employ 37 full time field operatives with a skill base including but not limited to fully coded welders, NVQ level 2 (minimum qualification) Lightning Protection Engineers, NVQ Level 2 (minimum qualification) Steeplejacks, NDT Testers, Irata Rope Access Technicians, Appointed Persons and Temporary Modular and Motorised Platform Installers.

Brief Case Study;-

In February 2012 Churchill were employed to remove 2no 50m redundant lighting towers located at the Hornsey railway sidings in North London without the use of mobile cranes, with no disruption to rail services both towers were safely removed within budget and programme. 

The success of this project resulted in the company being encouraged by Network Rail and the contract sponsor to obtain Link Up accreditation to increase our exposure in the rail sector, we are now pleased to announce accreditation to Link Up for the following product codes;-


    0428.1002.SER    Health, Safety & Environment Training - SER
    0803.1007.SMP    Protective Installations - SMP
    0803.1007.DES    Protective Installations - DES
    0803.1007.CBD    Protective Installations - CBD
    0803.1007.TCD    Protective Installations - TCD
    0803.1007.RAD    Protective Installations - RAD
    0803.1007.MRC    Protective Installations - MRC
    0804.1007.SER    Steeplejack Services - SER
    1214.1001.SER    Access Scaffolding - SER
    1230.1001.SMP    Specialist Access (Platforms etc.) - SMP
    1230.1001.DES    Specialist Access (Platforms etc.) - DES
    1230.1001.CBD    Specialist Access (Platforms etc.) - CBD
    1230.1001.RAD    Specialist Access (Platforms etc.) - RAD
    1230.1001.MRC    Specialist Access (Platforms etc.) - MRC
    1237.1001.SER    Ultrasonic Testing - SER


If you would like more information please do not hesitate to give me a call, alternatively you may wish to visit our web site at www.churchillsc.co.uk where there is also an online sales counter for the purchasing of a wide range of lightning protection, earthing and surge protection products.

Link Up - Churchill Specialist Contracting

Churchill Specialist Contracting  have achieved accreditation to Achilles Link Up for both lightning protection testing & installations as well as specialist access platforms.

This latest accreditation will support the business in obtaining contracts in the Rail sector without the need to be sponsored by a third party not only in the field of lightning protection but will for the first time offer the rail sector a unique turnkey solution for installing specialist access with a skill base to then simultaneously carry out a wide range of tasks including but not limited to surveys, dismantling and the repair/maintenance of concrete, brick & steel structures including towers, shafts & bridges.

In addition our specialist access solutions together with our techniques employed in the field of controlled dismantling is now directly available to the rail sector, a combination recently recognised when we were employed to dismantle 2no large lighting towers located in the Hornsey railway sidings North London.

The contract was safely completed without a mobile crane and without the need for a line closure, within budget and without incident

Churchill Online Store Service

Churchill Specialist Contracting new online store offers a full range of lightning protection, earthing and surge protection products from the UK and Europe’s leading manufactures including Furse, Wallis and Sudafix.

Due to our locality and our relationship with the UK’s largest manufacturers of lightning protection products established over an 18 year relationship via our contracting division Churchill have been successful in obtaining very competitive rates on a wide range of products, as a result we are able to offer these products up to 20% the manufacturers RRP.

Supported by our experienced contracting team if required help is on hand to assist on line purchasers with the selection and installation of lighting protection products all in accordance with the latest standard BS EN 62305.

Based centrally in Nottingham next delivery of all purchased products via the web site is available anywhere in the UK and with shipments and air freight regularly being dispatched to Nigeria, Saudia Arabia, Spain and France. The online shopping opportunity previously not available to the sector is proving to be a great success.

The site is still relatively young but as the SEO and marketing begins to take effect the 1200+ products will rapidly begin to rank high in the search engines and coupled with a concentrated marketing campaign to be launched in September 2012 the future for the ecommerce site looks very promising.

Please visit our store by clicking on the following link http://www.steeplejack.co.uk/Store/Default.aspx and discover a new more cost effective and easier solution to purchase your lightning protection, earthing and surge protection products.

Lightning Protection

Throughout history lightning has always been seen as extraordinary and has intrigued people. Even today people are astonished of the power of lightning and the images it produces.

Lightning featured in the news once again recently, when a bolt of lightning struck the Empire State Building in New York City. Many people in awe of this force of nature captured the moment on their cameras during a series of thunderstorms affecting the city. Countless numbers of these people will be perhaps unaware of the danger of these brilliant bolts of light, despite them being an exciting object of photography.

According to the National Weather Service the Empire State Building is annually struck by lightning on average twenty three times. This startling fact reinforces the need for buildings such as this to have installed lightning protection systems, without which they could potentially be destroyed. These systems protect the fabric and content of buildings and structures if they are affected by a lightning strike.

These protection systems can be easily installed by specialist contracting companies such as Churchill, who will assess the building in question and provide adequate safety constructions.

Having an earth termination system provides protection not only for your building but also for the occupants of the building, making it an essential instalment in workplaces. External grid arrangement lightning protection systems are also commonly employed which is designed and applied in order to confer protection depending on the risk associated with the building. 

It is important to remember that although lightning can be amazing to watch it can also be exceptionally destructive making lightning protection a necessity.

TATA Steel - Chimney Replacement Project

Churchill have secured the contract to replace 2no 40m boiler chimneys at the TATA Steel site in Rotherham.

The turnkey project will include the removal and re processing of the 2no existing steel boiler chimneys and the supply and erection of 2no steel replacement stacks with all site work being undertaken by ChurchillSC directly employed labour.

The work is scheduled to be completed during the sites outage period beginning at the end of the July 2012.