EMMA WARD JOINS BLUEBAY AS SALES DIRECTOR – AS GROWTH CONTINUES UNDER NEW MD
Bluebay Building Products – a leading independent UK distributor of specialist civil engineering and construction materials – has announced the appointment of Emma Ward as Sales Director.
In her new role, Emma will support Bluebay’s clients nationwide, bringing over 20 years’ experience in the construction industry. She has previously worked on high-value projects with organisations including Eternal Construction Group and Travis Perkins, earning a strong reputation for client delivery and commercial growth.
Commenting on her appointment, Emma said: “I’m excited to join Bluebay at such an important time in the company’s journey. With a fantastic team and an impressive portfolio of products, I look forward to contributing to Bluebay’s growth and further strengthening our position in the market. The opportunity to work alongside such experienced and dedicated professionals is truly inspiring, and I’m excited to help take the business to the next level.”
Her appointment is the latest step in a period of strategic expansion for Bluebay. Earlier this year, Lucy Furnival was appointed Managing Director, following the business’s acquisition in January by Wolseley Group. Bluebay now operates within Wolseley’s Infrastructure division and is investing in its services, people, and national reach.
Lucy commented: “We’re in an exciting period of growth and since my appointment, we’ve already created new jobs, welcoming new colleagues to the team, expanding our expertise and strengthening our presence across the country.
“I’m thrilled to welcome Emma on board – her depth of experience and passion for our industry make her a fantastic fit for Bluebay. Her leadership will be key in driving forward our sales strategy as we continue to grow. We’re proud to have a team of 50 dedicated professionals across our depots in Cardiff, Luton, Gateshead, and Warrington – all of whom are committed to delivering the high-quality service and specialist support Bluebay is known for.”
Added Emma: “I am so excited to be working under Lucy, we share so many values and she is undoubtedlya strong, forward-thinking female leader. I’m really looking forward to what we can achieve together.”
Bluebay Building Products distributes a portfolio of more than 2,000 specialist products for civil engineering and construction projects across the UK. The business operates nationally with depots in Cardiff, Luton, Gateshead, and Warrington.
“I CAN’T WAIT TO TAKE ON MY NEW CHALLENGE”
We’re delighted to welcome Georgie Clarke to the Bluebay team as our new External Sales Manager. In this blog, Georgie shares her career journey so far – and what she’s looking forward to most in her new role.
I’ve worked in the construction industry for more than a decade now, focusing mainly on roofing and new build specification in the South of the UK. I spent five years with BMI before relocating to the North West, where I joined Glidevale for a short time before making the exciting move to Bluebay.
Now, I’m thrilled to be part of the team here. It’s a really exciting time for the business – following its acquisition by the Worsley Group and the appointment of Lucy Furnival as Managing Director – and I knew I wanted to be part of that journey. I’ve joined as Technical Sales Manager for the North West and I’m looking forward to working closely with our brilliant Sales and Technical teams to deliver solutions that genuinely benefit our customers.
What I find most rewarding is building long-term relationships with clients and supporting them with expert advice that drives success. I’m excited to bring my experience to this role and to grow alongside the business.
The role of women in construction
Lucy’s appointment as Managing Director also highlights the growing role of women in our sector. While the construction industry has made great strides in recent years towards becoming more inclusive, there’s still more work to be done – and Lucy is a fantastic example of how far we’ve come. She’s an inspiring figure for people like me, and a great representative for women in leadership roles.
To continue building a more inclusive industry, I believe we need to invest in key areas like mentorship and support networks for women, which offer guidance and create real opportunities for advancement. Promoting flexibility is also vital, as it makes our sector more accessible – especially for women balancing multiple responsibilities. And we need to shout louder about the wide range of career paths available. There’s a place for women at all levels of this fantastic industry.
Ultimately, creating a culture that champions diversity, celebrates talent, and supports work-life balance will go a long way towards making construction a place where women not only join – but thrive.
I think Bluebay has lots of that, with great people and a great environment that I can’t wait to throw myself into.
BLUEBAY SUPPLIES PRODUCTS FOR THE HS2 COPTHALL GREEN TUNNEL
The Copthall Green Tunnel is an impressive 880-metre tunnel being constructed by Skanska Costain STRABAG Joint Venture (SCS JV) as part of HS2. Located within the London Borough of Hillingdon, the tunnel sits between the twin-bored Northolt Tunnel and the Colne Valley Viaduct. It is one of five green tunnels on the HS2 route – shallower tunnels that will be finished with trees, plants, and shrubs on top, helping them blend into the natural landscape. Building on our longstanding experience on HS2, we’re supplying Bluebay products here, as Lucy Furnival explains.
It’s amazing to think of the places our products end up, with projects all over the country, including on HS2.
This particular focus is on the Copthall Green Tunnel. As one of five shallower green tunnels on the HS2 route, its ‘cut and cover’ design significantly reduced the movement of soil, and approximately 1.21 million cubic metres of excavated material were kept on site for reuse within the tunnel surroundings – ensuring a greener and better visual integration of the railway into the surrounding landscape.
SCS’s role on the project was to construct a rigid concrete box structure within a 20-metre-deep cutting, which ultimately formed the green tunnel for the HS2 trains. This was constructed using steel reinforcement and in-situ concrete to form the base, walls and roof of the structure. Civil engineers on the project, Kilnbridge, installed two products from Mapei – the Mapeproof AL AP system and the Mapeproof AL 1200 AP system to the base and walls – each provided by our team at Bluebay.
This followed comprehensive compliance testing, design input, and commercial and technical site support throughout all phases, provided by Bluebay and Mapei’s UK and international teams. Particular attention to detailing was vital – taking into account requirements for buildability, piles, joints, continuity and compatibility at interfaces, changing environmental conditions, and the need for long design life and minimal maintenance.
The tunnel specification included the Mapeproof AL AP System, a pre-applied, fully bonded, self-adhering HDPE waterproofing membrane, selected as the primary external tanking waterproofing system to receive the poured concrete for the tunnel slab. Cold-applied and requiring no heat or naked flames, the membrane creates completely watertight seams prior to the installation of steel reinforcement and poured concrete. No protective layer is required, other than a temporary peel-off protection film which is removed before steel fixing. Once the concrete is poured, the system is fully bonded and prevents water from migrating laterally between the foundation structure and the membrane.
The post-applied self-adhering version, Mapeproof AL 1200 AP, was then lapped onto the pre-applied membrane and continued upwards for the cast tunnel and ventilation shaft walls. Mapei’s Polyfond Kit Drain – a robust, cuspated HDPE membrane laminated with a polypropylene needle-punched nonwoven geotextile – was also used to protect the membrane against backfilling works.
Tunnel joints were further protected against potential water ingress with the Idrostop Multi re-injectable hose system and Idrostop preformed hydrophilic acrylic polymer profile strips.
Mapeproof AL AP System provides a robust membrane is highly resistant to both puncturing and tearing. It can be applied underneath foundations, on formworks (precast), against diaphragms, soldier pile walls, pile walls or other excavation structures. Find out more about it, and all of our products, here.