Training for Sustainability
We’re on our way to upgrading our Carbon Literacy Accreditation from Bronze to Silver status, to have 50% of Beldam Crossley staff trained in the programme by the end of the year. The programme shows us how to put good intentions about reducing our carbon footprint into action. Becoming Silver accredited will be a significant step towards a more sustainable future for all. Carbon Literacy is just part of our commitment to sustainability. Since 2021, we’ve also been training for ESG – Environmental, Social and Governance. So far, 85% of our people have completed the initial awareness training which explores ways to celebrate and share the great work they do for their communities, people and the planet. If you share our values and passion for sustainability, and would like to be part of our journey to a greener future, visit our careers page. Explore exciting opportunities to join a team dedicated to creating a more sustainable future. Together, we can make a significant difference.
Product Spotlight – Pilot® Compression Lidpack
Amazing fact – most ships afloat on the world’s oceans right now are carrying a Beldam Crossley product catalogue. Why? The answer begins with the very origins of the company. In 1876 a ship’s engineer called Asplan Beldam discovered a solution to an impossible problem. This solution allowed him to design specific products to improve efficiency in steam-drive vessels. Fast forward 128 years and Beldam Crossley’s marine products are renowned for their innovation and high quality. As a result, we’re recognised as industry leaders by the majority of marine engineers and purchasers – and that’s why we’ve worked with Ship Chandlers worldwide to ensure our product catalogues are a handy go-to on board almost every vessel. Approved by Lloyds DNV and the US Coast Guard, our Pilot Compression Lidpacks are used to seal hatches on bulk carriers. Wherever chemical and solvent cargoes are carried, they are unique. The construction and properties of our Lidpacks prevent any leakages from escaping – protecting the ship, its crew and cargo and our precious ocean ecosystems. We may have diversified into many different industries since Asplan Beldam but we’ve never left the high seas completely. So here’s to his ingenuity in 1876 which led to our Pilot Compression Lidpacks today.
Beldam Crossley and Beyond: Exploring Unconventional Employee Benefits
At Beldam Crossley, we believe in providing our employees with unique benefits including helping our new brides and grooms celebrate their wedding with an additional week’s holiday. We’ve always felt it’s not the greatest reason to get married…but it helps! Have you ever wondered about the most unusual employee perks out there? Honeymoon time may not be a common benefit offered in 2024, but it’s far from the strangest out there. An internet search revealed that companies around the world are offering some pretty creative employee benefits: One US company provides employees with a house cleaning service so they can relax when they’re off the clock, unlimited access to the best homemade guacamole served in the city and free mechanical bull rides at the bar across the street. Or what about a $50 Beauty Budget per month to spend on manicures, pedicures and haircuts? One company goes a step further by offering on-site Botox facilities. Fury friends are also catered for. Free on-site doggy daycare is not that uncommon in the USA and a number of companies offer free or subsidised pet insurance and grooming. Still too traditional? Well, a well-known outdoor clothing and equipment business promises to pay your bail if you’re arrested for a peaceful environmental protest, while another household-name company supports employees trying to start a family with generous $10,000 egg-freezing costs. And if you’ve had a particularly successful month at work, one automotive firm will allow you free use of their company fleet of yachts. What non-traditional employee benefit would really turn your head? Or let us know what’s the strangest/most unusual benefit you’ve heard of.
People Profile – Slavka Hughes
Meet Slavka Hughes, Beldam Crossley’s Sustainability Manager. She’s passionate about the three Es – Engineering, Education and the Environment, and is a dedicated mum of two. We invited her to tell us more by answering questions about her life, both in and out of work. Here’s what she said… Q. Can you summarise your position in a few words? A. Integrating sustainability into business strategy to improve long-term business growth with less impact on the environment. Championing sustainability and its benefits to the business. Reducing the company’s impact on the environment while improving long-term growth. Q. What’s the best thing about your role? A. Working with people. Getting involved as a STEM ambassador at local schools has been a real pleasure for me. Volunteering and supporting the Beldam Crossley community by organising social events and bringing everyone together. For example, I’ve enjoyed the support we give to Bolton Lads and Girls Club. I genuinely feel that Beldam Crossley makes a difference and I love being part of that. Q. What’s the best thing about working at Beldam Crossley? A. Flexibility. Their progressive attitude allows me to do the job I want to do but also be a mum with all the commitment and responsibility that goes with it. Even in 2024, not all companies are as forward-thinking. Q. Describe the Beldam Crossley culture in three words? A. Family. Caring. Supportive. Q. How did you get into manufacturing and engineering? A. After college, I took my first job in manufacturing as an operator. I then moved into quality and engineering. My next job was in Compliance and with my passion for Environment and improvements I moved into my current role as Sustainability Manager. The rest is history. Q. What would you say to any young woman thinking of a career in engineering? A. As a woman in engineering, it is very rewarding to see yourself playing an important role in the workplace and society. To know that you’re inspiring young women – such as my daughter – is fulfilling. But there are definitely some challenges. Being in a profession relatively dominated by males is not always easy but with mutual respect, hard work, and empowering collaborations, we are all contributing to a brighter future for women in engineering. Q. Outside work, what are your passions and hobbies? A. Baking – I always wanted my own coffee shop with home-baked cakes made by me. Q. What’s your favourite place to visit in the world? A. Scotland. I love nature and woodlands. I spent my childhood with my dad teaching me all about trees, animals and mushrooms. Q. Do you have any special skills your work colleagues may not know about? A. I’m persistent, I don’t like giving up. My husband says I’m stubborn but I say I’m driven. After all, I wouldn’t be where I am now without being a little bit stubborn, sorry driven. But also, being able to compromise and choose my battles.
Bolton: A Legacy of Innovation & Excellence
When it comes to helping the world take a step forward, Bolton has always been right up there. We’re so proud to be part of this town. Great stuff has come from here – from the humble – but delicious – ice cream wafer sandwich to the genius of Carbon 60, the stronger-and-lighter-than-steel substance that earned its Bolton-born inventor Sir Harry Kroto a 1996 Nobel Prize. The very first running spikes were hammered into shoes in a cobbler’s shop in Bolton – that little company went on to become American giant Reebok. Lord Leverhulme, the original king of the soap industry and founder of Britain’s first modern multinational was born in the town centre in 1851. Even the doors of the 19th Century Imperial Ottoman Bank Museum in Istanbul read: “Chatwoods of Bolton.” None of this is surprising when you remember that Bolton’s manufacturing pedigree is built on the world-changing inventions of Richard Arkwright and Samuel Crompton, two of the Industrial Revolution’s greatest design engineers. All these incredible advances started as a niche, but have contributed greatly to the world. We like to think the same can be said of Beldam Crossley. Our industrial precision sealing technology is protecting lives, investments and environments. Think F1 racing cars and our components are there. They are also inside the Ariane 5 space satellite and many commercial and national naval fleets. Our PTFE polymers and slide bearings have massively improved the safe operation of the oil and gas industry. At the same time, we are committed to advancing renewable energy, producing sealing solutions for wind, hydro, electrolysis and tidal. Surely history will judge the first transatlantic flight powered by 100% sustainable aviation fuel as every bit as significant as Messrs. Arkwright and Crompton’s cotton-spinning mules. Beldam Crossley was there on that day too. Maybe there’s always been something in that Bolton air…
