This rather impressive facility is part of the Knauf plasterboard factory near Sittingbourne. It has one of the fastest production lines in Europe and was custom-built on a green-field site for Knauf in 1988. At the same location, they also have a plant prodcuing a wide range of gypsum plaster and jointing products.
Gypsum is also sold by us for agricultural purposes. It is a good source of sulfur and calcium for plant nutrition and for stimulating root growth. It improves acid soils, sometimes even more so than lime, and also improves soil structure to help water infiltration, as well as drainage. Finally, it helps to keep phosphorus and other nutrients from draining off farm fields.
Have we started operating on the Côte d'Azur? No, it's the subtropical Rye Bay, but what a difference nice weather makes!
Here we are loading plum slate for Long Rake Spar on tippers of two different generations.
The mists rest lightly over the Rother this morning, but enough to make for an atmospheric view! Here we are collecting ash from Rye Harbour, for carriage to Ninfield where Tarmac will use it for making building blocks. A nice way of recycling a waste product!
...But the fire is so delightful
And since we've no place to go
Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!
Actually it's not that easy running a haulage business a day like this - the A21 is closed between Lamberhurst and Tonbridge, the M20 is at a standstill from the M25 to Ashford, the A249 is closed; our Westerham quarry is closed - and still the snow is coming here in Newenden. There is - unusually - hardly any traffic past the office right now (9am).
The forecast is for more of the white stuff this morning, and then quite a lot on Thursday. Might not be a terribly productive week!
