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Litton Wells Dressing

3 July 2023
Litton Wells Dressings Tug of War

Litton night is held annually, with many activities taking place during their well-dressing week. Some of the activities include a beer festival which culminates in a tug of war competition, live music, rides for kids, and a barbeque on the Tuesday evening. There really is something on for everyone!

This year Long Rake Spar were proud to support the Tug of War competition, where there were four teams entered. The winning team, Buxton Young Farmers A team, wiped the floor against the Red Lion team with their ski boot military precision. See the video!

Long Rake was proud to support this event as part of their ongoing work in supporting local communities.

World class products for a World Champion!

20 June 2023
World class products

Grantex Stockist Total Resin Solutions had a knockout of a job when contracted by World Boxing Champion Tyson Fury to surface the driveway of his Lancashire mansion.

For the 1,200 sqm driveway, the Total Resin Solutions blend Cappuccino was chosen and emblazoned with a huge Gypsy King logo. The choice of aggregates for the new resin-bound driveway was naturally Grantex specialist dried aggregates.

The Gypsy King logo has attracted a lot of attention, with Tyson’s Instagram post about his new driveway being liked over 85,000 times and the story has now been featured in two national newspapers, as well as numerous other media outlets.

Tyson Fury Fathers Day
Tyson loves the new driveway so much that wife Paris photographed him and the children on the Gypsy King logo for Father's Day.

On his Instagram feed Tyson wrote the following statement:

@grantexsurfacing The #gypsyking @Tyson Fury and his very stunning new driveway done by @TotalResinSolutionsGroundworks 🔥🔥 using Grantex Surfacing aggregates. #resinbound #tysonfury #grantex #gypsyking #celebstyle #drivewaygoals #homeimprovement #drivewayideas ♬ original sound – Grantex Surfacing

Donegal Rally Gets Underway

16 June 2023
Donegal Rally

Long Rake Spar is proud to support Rally Driver Martin McGee in his latest bid at the Donegal International Rally running from 16th – 18th June 2023.

Right is a look at Martin at the Donegal International Rally 2008 from the onboard camera. It looks exhilarating, to say the least!

The Donegal International Rally is an annual motor racing event held in County Donegal, Ireland. It is one of the largest and most popular rallies in Ireland, attracting competitors and spectators from all over the world.

The Rally features a range of challenging stages that test the skill and endurance of the drivers. The stages are located on narrow and winding roads through the beautiful countryside of County Donegal, with stunning views and testing terrain that make the event both exciting and demanding.

We wish Martin a brilliant drive at The Donegal International Rally. Managing Director Trevor and Procurement and Logistics Director Kenny will be there to cheer Martin on.

RHS Chelsea Flower Show

2 June 2023
RHS Chelsea FLower Show

We were delighted to support Addagrip with the pathways they donated to Anne Hamilton Designs and Taina Suonio’s RHS Chelsea Flower Show Sanctuary Garden- Cavernoma On My Mind. We were even more pleased to hear they had been awarded a Silver Medal for this beautiful garden.

This garden was designed to raise awareness of the Cavernoma Condition. Cavernoma is a little-known and highly debilitating condition. A cavernoma is a lesion of abnormal blood vessels, often found in the brain or spine that can cause strokes, seizures, neurological deficits and even death.

The pathways for the garden were donated by Grantex Stockist Addagrip, where the Addagrip Terrabase Rustic in Rustic Bramble was selected, and installed by Tom Salmon Landscaping.

Designers: Anne Hamilton & Taina Suonio

Pathway Supplier: Addagrip with their Addagrip Terrabase Rustic

Aggregates Supplier: Grantex Surfacing

Silver at RHS Chelsea
Cavernova on my Mind at RHS Chelsea
RHS Chelsea Flower Show Cavernova my Mind

Max McRae at Jim Clark Rally

31 May 2023
Max McRae Scotland Rally 2023
Long Rake Spar is supporting 18-year-old Max McRae for the 2023 Rally season.

Max had flown home to Scotland directly from his European Rally Championship debut in Poland, hoping for a strong result on the latest round of the British series. Sadly Max had to retire from the Jim Clark Rally with a broken driveshaft on the opening stage.

“I’m pretty gutted with this result,” said Max. “I was really looking forward to this event. I’d heard so much about it and so much about the stages, which are really close to home. Sadly, this is the sport sometimes. It’s possible we could have carried on, but there was a danger we would have done more damage to the transmission and we couldn’t risk that. It’s tough, but we move on from here and look forwards to Latvia, our next ERC outing.“

Rally sport runs in the McRae family, with Dad Alister away with the Subaru Impreza, gaining a superb fourth place at the inaugural Logiman Mythical Cars Rally in Italy. Max finished by saying “The good news is that Dad made it home in Italy on what sounded like an amazing event.”

Alister reiterated those thoughts, adding: “Obviously we’re disappointed for Max. He went there looking for seat time and to gain experience and that’s not happened. It’s also not ideal when you have new sponsors Asset Alliance and Long Rake Spar on the car, which we did in Scotland. Like Max said, rallying can be cruel sometimes. For me, I’m happy. My job was quite different here. I was at the Logiman Mythical Cars Rally to have some fun, drive a great car in the Best Impreza and enjoy the atmosphere being back on a great Italian rally. Seriously though, great weekend for us, tough one for Max – but mechanical issues are part of the game and he’ll be back soon enough.”

Max's 2023 programme is backed by partners; Dirt Fish, Asset Alliance, Long Rake Spar, Specialist Helicopters, C Plant Industries, OMP, The Racing Factory and Driverrisk Management.

Max McRae
Max McRae rally car

The Car, The Challenge

The Opel Corsa Rally4 Max will drive this season is the same model which won the Junior ERC title last season. Designed and built at Opel’s motorsport factory in Germany, the car develops more than 200bhp from its 1200cc turbocharged engine. Drive is transmitted to the front wheels through a plated limited-slip differential and a five-speed sequential gearbox.

It is the very definition of a pocket rocket.

It’s also the car which holds the key to the next step on Max’s journey. Success in Junior ERC through 2023 would mean an assisted step up into the Junior World Rally Championship for next year.

Congratulations to Mr and Mrs Duncan!

22 May 2023

Saturday saw the marriage of two special people in the ‘Long Rake’ family. Annabel, who is the Supply Chain Manager, and Rob who is the Group Accountant. They met at work some eight years ago, where Annabel described Rob as the boy in accounts who was always smiling! They picked a fantastic day to get married and don’t they both look amazing!

We would like to take a moment to wish them both a long and happy life together.

Colchester Zoo Rocks!

28 March 2023
Colchester Zoo

In January 81 schools painted stones that were donated by Natural Selection and Silverton Aggregates for the Colchester Zoo Rocks project. Colchester Zoo is a zoological garden situated near Colchester, England. The zoo was opened in 1963.

This project was to commemorate the 60th Anniversary of the opening of Colchester Zoo. We, along with Silverton Aggregates supplied approximately 12,000 Scottish Cobbles and around 160 Cambrian Boulders, which were painted by over 11,500 students across Essex, Suffolk and London!

On return back to the Zoo, these beautiful stones have been added to the commemorative garden located by the entrance of the Zoo. They will remain there for the next 18 months, so be sure to check out the beautiful and colourful new rockery garden on your next visit to Colchester Zoo!

Colchester Zoo
Colchester Zoo
Colchester Zoo

Golden Quartz used in Derbyshire Pagan Traditions

30 September 2022
Etwall Well Dressing

Long Rake Spar’s Grantex brand donated Golden Quartz stone, which was used in Derbyshire Pagan Traditions in the village of Etwall.

Well-dressings are a beautiful tradition mostly held around the Peak District counties of Derbyshire and Staffordshire. The tradition involves wells, springs, and other water sources that are decorated with designs created from flower petals and other natural materials.

It is believed that the tradition was a Pagan custom, offering thanks to the Gods for a reliable water supply. Today, villagers and local communities come together to decorate and hold festivities for the well-dressing.

We donated our premium Golden Quartz to the Etwall Well Dressing

grantex etwall well dressing

This year Grantex supported the nearby village of Etwall with their well-dressing by donating 50kg of Golden Quartz specialist dried aggregate. The aggregate was used to produce large parts of their decorative display. The display showcased the theme “This Green and Pleasant Land”, capturing the appreciation of idyllic English countryside.

Our Golden Quartz stone really stood out and aided a very eye-catching display for this Derbyshire Pagan Tradition. We love showing support to the local communities and sustaining traditions for future generations.

As well as this, the well-dressing is run by a non-profit charity that raises funds to distribute to local and regional charities. The charities this year are:

We love seeing the intricate designs villagers come up with each year and being involved through our charitable donations. Bring on next year!

Natural Selection Products at the Commonwealth Games

2 August 2022
Commonwealth Games

We are really pleased to see these lovely images of our 40mm Blue Slate at one of the Commonwealth Games sites in Birmingham.

The Welsh Slate was sold through our Merchant, Davis Aggregates to their customer F.B & Sons, Lawns & Landscapes. It was F B & Sons who undertook the regeneration of the area, laying the aggregate and planting a variety of drought-tolerant plants that not only provide long-lasting colour through the year, but also a wonderful scent for passers by.

It is always great to see where our products end up!

Commonwealth Games
Blue Slate at the Commonwealth Games

Long Rake Spar increases production with new facilities

11 March 2022
increases production

Long Rake Spar increases production by recently completing the first of three phases of works. New washing and bagging facilities have been installed at the latest site at Garston Docks, Liverpool. This strategically placed site now produces finished aggregates for the Natural Selection brand. The facilities have been designed and constructed to include an additional sixteen external storage bays and the building of a new 20,000 ft2 warehouse. This improvement in facilities allows for an additional 60,000 tonnes of decorative aggregates to be processed per annum.

High volumes of stock are held at Long Rake Spar’s various sites to enable the company to react quickly and dynamically to demand for products. The addition of the site at Garston has contributed to an impressive increased stock holding. This allows for stock to be delivered in a timely manner. From an environmental perspective, this reduces vehicle miles and the carbon footprint of finished products.

The ability to be fully in control of the supply chain is a fundamental part of the long-term strategy at Long Rake Spar. This puts us significantly ahead of many competitors in terms of stockholding and the ability to supply. The addition of Garston as a production site, adds to the existing production sites in Youlgrave, Derbyshire; Rye Harbour, East Sussex and Prees, Shropshire, with a further three dock sites. You can read more about our processing and packing facilities here>>

Kenny Dean, Procurement and Logistics Director comments, “Long Rake Spar continue to invest at all UK sites. This new facility at Garston includes a state-of-the-art bagging plant utilising cutting edge technology.  We are pleased to add this new site to our group and cement our long-term partnership with ABP.”

Natural Selection
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