UKQAA appoints new chair
Tarmac’s Allan Everett succeeds Power Minerals’ Ivan Skidmore after four years in the role
THE UK Quality Ash Association (UKQAA), the country’s leading authority on the use of quality ash in construction and engineering applications, has appointed Allan Everett as its new chair. He takes over from Power Minerals’ Ivan Skidmore after four years in the role.
Mr Everett, who is Tarmac’s ash business manager, brings significant experience of the UK and global materials sector to the Association and has an extensive knowledge of the UKQAA membership as well as the challenges the ash industry faces in the coming years. As chair, he will help steer the Association and work with its membership, to promote and secure the use of quality ash in construction and engineering applications.
Mr Everett (pictured), said: ‘The UKQAA has a vital role to play in the construction sector in the coming years – particularly as the industry steps up to deliver big projects such as HS2 and major road schemes. These projects place huge demands on the concrete industry where quality ash is often a critical material, but we’re aware of the availability issues coal-fired power station closures pose to us.
‘As a result, our focus is on assessing other sources of ash and working with the UKQAA membership and our global partners to identify what this might mean. There’s no hiding the challenges we face, but the opportunities ash held in long-term storage and increased importation hold are just as significant. I’m confident we can be successful, and I look forward to driving the UKQAA forwards in the coming years.’
Joining Mr Everett will be Richard Boult, who has been announced as the UKQAA’s new Technical Committee chair. Mr Boult, who is commercial technical manager at CEMEX UK Cement, will work with UKQAA’s Technical Committee members to develop and assess technical projects exploring new sources and uses for quality ash.
He said: ‘I’m delighted to be taking on the role of the UKQAA Technical Committee chairman; the opportunity for us to manage technical projects for the Association at what’s likely to be an exciting time is hugely appealing. We’re aware that the ash industry is going through a period of transition, but this brings plenty of opportunities to assess new ideas.
‘We’re already working with organizations on a number of important research projects to tackle these issues, including a major project with Dundee University’s Concrete Technology Unit to explore how we can make use of ash in long-term storage. The results here are enormously exciting for the sector, so I’m looking forward to working with the UKQAA to turn research projects into commercial opportunities.’
