They played a vital role in the preperations for the greatest seaborne invasion of the 20th Century. But prototype pontoons that helped make the D-Day landings a success and end the Second World War could be destroyed next month as part of a plan to improve ferry services in Southern Scotland.

The concrete and steel (fabricated by Bone Steel) pontoons still stand on the sea bed in Loch Ryan, off the Dumfriesshire coast, and were the forerunners of the Mulberry harbours used by Allied forces to establish a bridgehead on the Normandy coast in June, 1944.

Heritage experts are calling on ferry company Stena to help preserve the pontoons, which have been lying neglected for most of the last 65 years, as the last examples of the structures that proved so important to the Allied landings.

Stena, which runs ferries to Northern Ireland from Cairnryan is planning to build a new terminal and wants to remove the pontoons to develop the site. Although it says it has agreed plans with Historic Scotland to try to save at least one of the four pontoons, they may all break up once removal operations start. The structures were made (at Bone Steel formerly Bone Connell and Baxter) in Motherwell.

North Lanarkshire Council Museums said the connections to Motherwell’s industrial heritage alone was justification enough for conservation.

A council spokesman said: “They represent the vital role played by Scottish companies in this unprecedented engineering project and the often forgotten role of those who worked in reserved occupations.”

We’ll bring you the very latest news from Bone Steel along with our opinion each month on the ongoing developments within the steel construction industry in our new opinion blog.

Chief Executive Chris Bone said today: “We’re delighted to finally launch our exciting new website and we hope that it will be a useful tool as well as providing an interesting insight to our company and industry.”

So how are structural steel contractors coping in this environment? As you would expect, most have significantly reduced their capacity and associated overheads. However some have taken the further step of closing their fabrication facility and outsourcing. These firms have found that they are able to source the fabrication at lower costs than they were able to achieve with their own facility.

Is this indicative of a change in the structure of the steel contracting supply chain? Or is it merely a function of short term necessity?

Steel fabrication lines, as with many other manufacturing processes, benefit from highly automated equipment that delivers the highest levels of productivity and product quality. However, those that have made the investment in new lines are only able to realise these benefits with sufficient volume throughput.

Similarly, the requirements of clients and project teams increasingly relate to project management with the capability to positively influence all stages of the project cycle from design development through to site delivery. So in the future might there be a supply chain structure of ‘best in class’ steel contractors, focussed on project delivery, that are serviced by a tier of ‘best in class’ steel fabricators, focussed on manufacturing?

To become established, this model would need consideration and acceptance from both main contractors and trade bodies alike. Challenges would inevitably surround conventional thinking, relating to such topics as quality control and in-house capability. However, is this really such a radical departure? Isn’t it common practice for a significant proportion of fabrication to be outsourced to ‘other fabricators’ to smooth out peaks in demand or where elements are better suited to their manufacturing facility?

It could therefore be argued that those contractors that have recently taken the decision to close their fabrication facility and outsource are merely ‘coming out’. Time will show whether this proves to be a successful move to reposition themselves within the supply chain, or whether it is merely an attempt at short term survival!

A Scottish steel company has secured £8m worth of contracts to supply material for use in new schools, a recycling plant and a car park.

Bone Steel, based in Lanarkshire, said it had enjoyed a successful start to the new year and hoped to win further large-scale projects.

The firm supplied and built the Formula One Grandstand in Dubai in 2004.

It has also been involved with the £32m regional sports facility project at the former Ravenscraig steelworks.

Bone has been appointed by contractors Carillion, Mansell, Bourne Parking and Miller Construction to supply steel for six new schools in the south and north west of England, a waste recycling plant in Leicestershire, a multi-storey car park in east London, and a commercial development in Edinburgh.

‘Challenging market’

Chief executive Chris Bone said: “Despite the difficult trading conditions which have affected everyone operating within the construction industry, there is still work out there to be won and this is reflected in our current pipeline of bid work, which stands at over £200m.

“Like all steel companies, we have endured a difficult 18 months but we have demonstrated resilience and were able to adapt swiftly to the challenging market conditions.

“We did see a reduction in turnover in 2009, which is primarily due to the reduction in raw material costs, but we are continuing to drive efficiencies throughout the business and are working closely with our long-standing supply chain in order to mitigate the impact of significantly reduced margins.”

Established in 1938, Bone Steel is now one of the leading steel contractors in the UK, with headquarters in Wishaw and regional offices in London and Leeds.

It is involved in contracts across Europe and the Middle East.

Figures published on Tuesday suggested the UK economy had come out of recession, growing by 0.1% in the last three months of 2009.

Bone steel products will now be put to use in the construction of six schools in the south and north-west of England, a waste recycling plant in Leicestershire, a multi-storey car park in east London and a commercial development in Edinburgh.

The firm admitted it had endured “a difficult 18 months” as developers battened down the hatches but said it had “demonstrated resilience” by adapting “swiftly” to the challenging market conditions.

Commenting on the recent contract wins, which also include a deal with Bourne Parking, chief executive Chris Bone said: “We have enjoyed an extremely encouraging start to the year and we are well positioned to secure further large-scale contracts from our key customers.

“Despite the difficult trading conditions which have affected everyone operating within the construction industry, there is still work out there to be won and this is reflected in our current pipeline of bid work, which stands at over £200m.”

He said the firm, which was founded in 1938 and has regional offices in London and Leeds, had seen a reduction in turnover in 2009, mainly due to the reduction in raw material costs, adding that management was “working closely” with suppliers “in order to mitigate the impact of significantly reduced margins”.

Bone said the group has just re-negotiated its banking facilities “with the full support and commitment of our shareholders”.

Last October, Bone Steel supplied and erected more than 2,300 tonnes of steelwork for the new £32m regional sports centre at Ravenscraig, described by the firm as a “significant project”.

Bone Steel, the Wishaw-headquartered structural metals supplier, yesterday said it had secured £8m-worth of contracts since the start of the year, bearing out the findings of recent surveys indicating improved health in the manufacturing sector.

Nonetheless, given the impact of the recession on the construction industry, the contract wins are a major boost for the Scottish-based firm.

Bone yesterday said it had been appointed by contractors Carillion, Mansell, Bourne Parking and Miller Construction to supply steel for the construction of six new schools in the south and north west of England, a waste recycling plant in Leicestershire, a multi-storey car park in London, and a commercial development in Edinburgh.

Chris Bone, chief executive of the company, said: “We have enjoyed an extremely encouraging start to the year and we are well positioned to secure further large-scale contracts from our key customers.

“Despite the difficult trading conditions which have affected everyone operating within the construction industry, there is still work out there to be won, and this is reflected in our current pipeline of bid work, which stands at more than £200m.”

He added: “Like all steel companies, we have endured a difficult 18 months, but we have demonstrated resilience and were able to adapt swiftly to the challenging market conditions.

“We did see a reduction in turnover in 2009, which is primarily due to the reduction in raw material costs – but we are continuing to drive efficiencies throughout the business.”

According to research by the CBI business group, a rise in exports – driven by the weakened pound – helped the beleaguered manufacturing sector to its first increase in output for two years in the fourth quarter of last year.

Official figures have also painted an improving picture in recent months.

In October, Bone Steel supplied and erected more than 2300 tonnes of steelwork for the new £32m regional sports centre at Ravenscraig.

It was a significant project for the company, which noted at the time that it had been given the opportunity to play a continued role in the regeneration of Ravenscraig, which was once the home of steel making in Scotland.