Brushtec: Solidarity and Wire Side Brushes
One of the most dominating stories of the past few weeks has been the uncertain future of the Tata steelworks in Port Talbot, Wales. The closure of the plant and others like it around the UK would have far reaching negative consequences, some of which concerns Brushtec.
The flat steel strip in our wafer ring brushes is sourced from the Port Talbot plant. From the Tata plant in Scunthorpe is where we source the wire rod for our side gutter brushes.
Beyond our own concerns, we obviously wish to see steel continue to be produced in the UK for many years to come, especially in light of seeing our local steel plant in Redcar close.
Side gutter brushes
On the subject of steel gutter brushes, some customers have enquired before on why many of the wire holes are square. The reason for this is threefold:
• It allows for much reduced fatigue on the flat wire compared to a circular hole as the flat wire sits against the flat hole and it does not let the wire move around as much. Resulting in a longer lasting brush.
• Circular holes are normally drilled, so we’re cutting down on waste and cost by moulding square holes.
• It creates a neater looking brush, which beyond aesthetics also helps the wire sit on the road in the correct orientation, therefore helping the brush sweeping performance.
Looking towards the future, we are currently testing new hole sizes, and patterns to determine if we can increase wire quantity and surface area.
It is not just the wire which is British made either: the plastic disk is itself made from 100% post-consumer recycled polypropylene. This we source locally from an international car plant.
