RoSPA SAFETY AWARD FOR PORTASTOR

York-based specialist equipment housing manufacturer Portastor has won a Silver Award from the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA) in recognition of its safety record. The 2015 award is the first one for Portastor, which is part of the building services group Shepherd.

Portastor employs 70 people at its site in York, where it offers turnkey solutions to design, build and install fully packaged modular equipment housings for customers in the oil and gas, rail and power industries. Its specialist engineers and technicians also offer a full aftersales service, providing maintenance support, spares and associated services often on clients' remote and dangerous sites.

Portastor CEO, David Jennings said: "We are very proud to receive such a prestigious award in recognition of the focus, hard work and diligence Portastor puts into health and safety at work."

"Our work involves designing, building and installing very large steel structures sometimes in hazardous environments, and we are proud of our team's commitment to deliver safe operations whether that is on our own site or those of our clients. This award is for every member of our dedicated and professional team, well done to all."

The RoSPA Occupational Health and Safety Awards are internationally recognised and have fast become the most sought after accolade by organisations from every sector. The majority of RoSPA's awards are non-competitive, grading achievement at merit, bronze, silver and gold levels. Organisations that maintain high standards in consecutive years can win gold medals, president's awards and orders of distinction.

David Rawlins, RoSPA's awards manager, said: "The RoSPA Awards encourage improvement in occupational health and safety management. Organisations that gain recognition for their health and safety management systems, such as Portastor, contribute to raising standards overall and we congratulate them."

RoSPA Silver Award winners have achieved a high level of performance underpinned by good management systems which are delivering consistent improvement and are working towards the level of excellence required for a Gold Award.

Some Portastor's recent projects include design and build contracts for modular equipment housings for power, protection and control equipment for rail projects including the Great Western Electrification Project (GWEP), and a prestigious nuclear project.

The RoSPA Silver Award will be presented at a ceremony in Birmingham on July 14, 2015.

ENDS

Notes for Editors

Portastor specialises in the design and manufacture of fully integrated, factory-built modular power, equipment and control housings into critical processes and hostile environments for customers in the oil and gas, rail and power industries. Market leading clients include Siemens, Schneider Electric, Network Rail, ABB, Sellafield and NationalGrid. Portastor currently employs 70 people at its site in Yorkshire, UK. It is part of the Shepherd Group, a family-owned firm that employs around 3,200 people around the world and has an annual turnover exceeding £650 million. www.portastor.co.uk.