Construction Fixings

In celebration of both its 35^th anniversary in the industry, and the opening of its new headquarters, Hydrajaws hosted an open day on 18^th May at its new site in Tamworth, UK. Assistant Editor Becca England attended to see the new building first-hand and report on the history, innovations and capabilities of Hydrajaws. 

Established in 1988, Hydrajaws Limited works primarily in the construction industry, developing, manufacturing and selling a range of portable pull testers used to check the crucial holding force of anchors and fixings in construction materials. Today, the company has a global reach, with 70% of exports going abroad to over 65 different export markets. The company’s open day aimed to celebrate this impressive journey.  

Upon arrival, guests were greeted warmly and served drinks while final preparations were made for an 11:30 start. These guests included representative members from Adi Supply Ltd, fischer Fixings Ltd, Ejot UK Ltd, Made in Britain and Rawlplug S.A. Visitor numbers exceeded the company’s expectations, as highlighted by Michelle Cross, marketing co-ordinator at Hydrajaws, who stated that “we were hoping for 30 visitors, but exceeded our expectations as 47 attended”. 

Several speakers were present on the day, the first of which being Master of Ceremonies Dennis Chick – who officially welcomed visitors and briefly detailed the day’s itinerary, which included a tour of the grounds, followed by a buffet lunch, before the official opening ceremony of the building. The second speaker Stephen Hynes, managing director at Hydrajaws, discussed his role in the company and highlighted how Hydrajaws was “very much a family run business”. 

Royston Morgan, chairman of Hydrawjaws, was the third speaker who talked guests through the history of the company, starting with its original product, the Model 0087. “This first generation model had a 20kN load gauge,” explains Royston. “To put this into perspective – this is 2 tonnes. Amazing to think that such a small handheld device would be able to lift our friend here…” to which a life-size model of a rhino was unveiled to highlight the capabilities of the company’s first tester. These capabilities have grown to the modern models used today all over the world. 

The growth of Hydrajaws was aptly demonstrated in Royston’s speech, as the evolution of each tester was shown, parallel to the growth of the company – illiustrated by the increased warehouse production over the years. The Tamworth building is the third workspace investment for the company in the past two decades, displaying the significant growth for Hydrajaws as the company continues to meet industry demand.   

Royston was also sure to highlight the importance of familial support in the company’s history, which led to the fourth speaker, CEO Adrian Morgan, who expanded on his role in the business and how product innovations aided in company growth. The final speaker was guest speaker John Pearce, CEO at Made in Britain, who was sure to enforce “the importance of Great British manufacturing”.

Following the insight offered by these speakers, guests were then taken on a guided tour around the Hydrajaws production factory – where all tester kits are assembled, calibrated and packaged in-house. A live demonstration of the M2008 – the company’s latest model tester that has been used on many different construction projects around the world – was also shown to illustrate the capabilities of the tester and how it identifies whether or not an anchor is up to industry standards. Capable of pull testing up to 145kN (which would be equivalent to about seven rhinos) the product pull tests threaded studs that have been post-installed into a base material. 

After a spot of lunch came the main event, the official opening ceremony of the new Hydrajaws building, performed by His Majesty’s Lord-Lieutenant of Staffordshire, Ian Dudson, CBE KStJ. The Mayor of Tamworth, Cllr Moira Greatorex was also in attendance to witness the ceremony.  

“We feel the event strengthened relations with our suppliers and has enabled them to gain a greater understanding of our business. We’ve also received quite a number of congratulatory comments and appreciation from our guests,” concluded Michelle.