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About Us
The Brock Metal Company Ltd has influenced the whole world in this specialist field. If you’ve ever wondered why there are other companies supplying metal bearing the Brock name or using a badger logo it is a comment on the reputation built here at The Brock Metal Company Ltd in the UK. Supplying primary Zinc alloy across Europe and beyond we have the expertise to help you make better use of this versatile metal, to optimise product design and minimise cost.
We are internationally recognised as a centre of professional expertise
The team at Brock Metal plays its part within key organisations such as the Zinc Information Centre, the Cast Metals Federation and the Aluminium Alloy Manufacturing and Recycling Association. The company manufactures Zinc alloys to all the recognised European and international specifications and our quality assurance systems are fully accredited to BS EN 9001 with full traceability. The Brock Metal Company Limited is a part of Chelyabinsk Zinc Plant (CZP) - Russia’s largest producer of SHG Zinc and zinc alloys. (www.zinc.ru)
History
The Brock Metal Company Ltd was founded in 1947 by Eric Jones. Eric was a shoe salesman who was introduced to the metal industry by a friend. He established the original factory in an old pub in Saltley, Birmingham. Searching for a name for their new business, Eric and his wife decided to use the soubriquet given her when she worked at Rackhams department store: ‘Brock’. The name was used to distinguish her from another employee who shared her real name, for the purpose of recording their commissions. The couple felt the name was associated with her success at Rackhams and decided to carry it forward to the new business. Brock is one of the oldest words in the English dictionary. It’s the word for ‘badger’ - hence our logo.
Eric sold the business some years later to the Leigh & Sillavan Group, metal traders based in Macclesfield Cheshire. At this time the business was moved to a new purpose built factory at Norton Canes, Cannock Staffordshire. A period of rapid expansion followed from 1985 which saw the Company taking a larger share of the UK market and developing export sales of zinc alloy and aluminium to continental Europe. In 2008 a strategic decision was taken to concentrate entirely on the manufacture of zinc alloy products. During its lifetime Brock has had several owners, including Benjamin Priest, International Marine and Alumasc Plc.
Meet the Brock Metal Team
Our Brock Metal Family
Gerard Keane
Managing DirectorPassionate about zinc, Brock and Aston Villa, (though not necessarily in that order), Gerry has an encyclopaedic knowledge of the zinc industry. Current holder of the Brock corporate record for the most thoughts contained within a single sentence.
Steve Worthington BA ACMA
Financial DirectorAs a chartered accountant Steve is a great proponent of lifelong learning. Nonetheless he remains a Wolves season ticket holder.
Martin Smith BA MA (Cantab) CEng MIET
Operations DirectorMartin needs to learn how to think inside the box and could do with developing even a passing interest in football. Industrial Fellow at the Institute for Manufacturing Education and Consultancy Services, University of Cambridge.
Linda Minall
Office ManagerIf the customer is always right it’s probably because Linda gave them the information first. With 40 years’ experience of customer service at Brock behind her Linda would like to point out that they started work very young back then.
Neil Yates
Operations Manager31 years of zinc alloy production. Neil wasn’t born; he was cast.
Gill Russon
Quality ManagerOver 25 years in the die-casting industry before joining Brock gave Gill an in-depth understanding of our customers’ needs. She’s on your side but don’t catch her when she’s hungry!
Chris Lake BEng ACQI
Health and Safety ManagerBrock’s safety performance is many times better than the cast metals industry average. Whilst safety is always a serious matter Chris has a well-developed sense of irony, and other metallurgical contaminants as well.
Marcia Miller BA Hons
Management AccountantMarcia is the latest addition to the Brock family. We're delighted she's joined us, but suspect she might be starting to realise what she's done !
Jane Elson
Sillavan AnodesThis Jane looks after the special products. Like most businesses, special products at Brock are things we don’t make much of but charge more for. But because it’s Jane you won’t mind so much.
Allison Whitehouse
AccountsAllison’s name runs the chemical symbols for Aluminium, Lithium, Sulphur, Oxygen and Nitrogen together. How she’s come to do the money instead of the spectrometers we’ll never know.
Tony Thorns-Dobson
LaboratoryDuring Tony’s time at Brock civilisations have risen and fallen, empires have come and gone and continents have drifted across oceans but through all this upheaval he has ensured that one thing does not change: the control of our alloy composition.
Matt Yates
DespatchThe Transporter….but this one does ask questions. How else do you deliver On Time In Full?
Samantha Brecknell
Office AdministratorWith a job title like that you won’t be surprised that Sam provides support to more than one business function, but 'Office Administrator' is shorter.
A Dedicated Team Of Skilled Foundrymen
This is where it all happens. They may be unaccustomed to sunlight, but these guys are highly competent professionals who care. You can rely on them to get it right, time after time.
Geoff - Paul - Billy - Kelvin
Tony - Keith - Pete - Chris
John - John - Mick - John - Luke
Managing Director’s Message
Welcome to the new Brock Metal Company Ltd website. There’s a lot more than the website changing at Brock. We’re offering new products such as the high strength, low creep EZAC alloy which allows zinc to compete with aluminium in strength applications. We’re developing new sales, especially to export markets, we’re growing significantly and we’re investing to make our production processes even more responsive to our customers’ needs. We’re passionate about this business, and we want to share that passion with you.
Gerard Keane, Managing Director
