Published by Farmers Guide, December 2007.

Peter Crawford (left) and Ben Turner of C&T Blasting Ltd.

Mobile shot blasting proves a flexible business

ONE of the more recent additions to the Farmers Guide contractor pages is Sudbury-based C&T Blasting Ltd, which is owned by Peter Crawford and Ben Turner.

The pair, who started the company in February 2007, have been friends since they were at school and now, at the ages of 28 and 27 respectively, run three businesses between them.

C&T Blasting is their first joint venture and offers shot-blasting and spray painting services across the Eastern Counties, and further afield if the job is economically viable. Peter told Farmers Guide that they decided to start the new business at the end of last year.

"We knew a shot blasting operator in the area that was retiring and we spent a bit of time during Christmas 2006 considering if it was something we wanted to do," he said. "We came to the conclusion that it was a good fit with the businesses we already run, and would allow us to offer a wider range of services."

Since starting C&T Blasting, Peter and Ben have been quick to pick up their new trade and are now well versed in the different shot blasting mediums used in the work and, just as important, the paints or other treatments to protect the work after it's been done.

"Copper slag, crushed glass and even walnut shells are just a few of the things that are used in modern shot blasting," Ben said. "You just choose the material that's best suited to the paint or dirt you're trying to remove and the finish you want to achieve.

"When you're working with metal, it's vital to respray the surface as soon as possible after the shot blasting is finished because it doesn't take long for the bare surface to begin to rust."

The pair take advice from specialist supplier Flinco, at Leiston, Suffolk, on the best paint finishes to use for any particular job.

"Expert advice is vital when it comes to modern paints," Peter added. "It's important we get the colour and the finish that the client requires, but it's even more important that the paint is perfectly suited to the job and will last."

C&T Blasting currently offers a mobile service, and also has premises to offer a static service. It is able to treat anything from brickwork, tiles and metal, to clothing - if you want to age a pair of jeans, shot blasting is the way to do it!

"Because we both grew up and work among the farming community, we do a lot of work around farms, although we're keen to expand into other sectors as well," Peter said. "We have shot blasted and painted the steel frame in a former dairy building that was being converted into offices, as well as fertiliser tanks and diesel tanks, and farm machinery.

"Maintaining shipping containers that have been converted for agrochemical storage is another excellent application for shot blasting and an area where we're keen to quote."

Away from C&T Blasting, Ben runs Ben Turner Garden Maintenance, looking after mostly domestic gardens and carrying out landscaping projects, while Peter, trading as P Crawford (Contracting) Ltd, runs a large-scale hedgecutting business (running a new Claas Aries 697 tractor and 19ft McConnel PA5600 this season) and now maintains the hedges on about 17,500 acres.

"Now that the hedgecutting season has been restricted to just seven months of the year, the shot blasting business has proved an ideal add-on business," Peter said. "Ben and I have always worked together on jobs where we needed extra help, and C&T Blasting is a natural extension to that working relationship.

"We're both flexible enough in our other work to find time to fit in the shot blasting work, and it helps that I'm available throughout the spring/summer months when the dry weather is ideal for large shot blasting projects."

For more information contact Peter Crawford on 01787 378838 or 07966 184580; or Ben Turner on 01787 373593 or 07813 667956.