GD Harries, the haulage, civil engineering and aggregates contractor located in West Wales has announced that they have completed an unusual and demanding project. The company was contracted to supply and deliver around 15,060 tonnes of granite to the Hinkley Point C nuclear reactor which is located in Somerset.

The company has selected to complete this contract following a range of chemical analysis which showed that the rock that has been sourced from one of their six West Wales quarries had the strength and durability that was required by the contractors for the Nuclear project to protect the plant’s seawall. The granite is being used at Hinkley Point C as rock armour and will form the first line of defence from the sea for the reactor.

GD Harries was also ideally located to supply and deliver the products needed at the developing nuclear plant. This is because the haulage, civil engineering and aggregates company is located close to Pembroke Port, from which they are able to transport the rock by barge to any coastal location in the UK and beyond. This particular order was unusual for GD Harries because of the size and amount of granite that was required for the sea defence.

The company saw this contract as an opportunity to supply and deliver a larger scale rock armour that they ever have before. Speaking about this particular contract, the production manager at GD Harries, Gareth Phillips has said the delivery of up to 15 tonne pieces of granite allowed the company to be able to prove to contractors that they are able to meet larger orders, putting them in a stronger position for other similar sized projects in the future. In order to complete the contract, the company needed to use a range of innovative solutions in terms of what equipment was used and the cutting techniques used.