Whilst many domestic visitors to the website will still be saddened at the announcement that the delegation was not successful in its bid to host the 2018 World Cup, our international visitors may be pleased to hear that the reputed ‘Greatest Show on Earth’ will be hosted by Russia and the following tournament in Qatar. As much as the FM Sudafix Group would have been delighted to support the domestic World Cup developments had the bid team been successful, it is still fully committed to helping both Russia and Qatar get ready for the tournaments.

Hosting the World Cup be it Russia 2018 , Qatar 2022, or any other future tournament, obviously places considerable demands on a country’s infrastructure and in order to make the various stadia both ready and accessible will require a phenomenal investment and effective deployment of rail resource. The FM Sudafix Group is a recognised specialist supplier of technical services and products for the vital stage of any rail construction project, being the electrical safety aspect. Offering support in earthing / grounding , stray current management , surge protection , lighting protection and offering services such as design , consultancy , problem resolution , and support. Both Russia 2018 and Qatar 2022 are likely to encounter problems with the ground resistivity at a number of locations and potentially face challenges of theft or earthing / grounding materials, fortunately Conducrete conductive concrete will assist both countries despite them enjoying very different climates due to its robust performance attributes.

Whether clients require the technical services of JMI Earthing or effective and reliable products the FM Sudafix Group will be able to form part of the support safety net for the project, be it Russia 2018 , Qatar 2022 , or any other significant rail construction project.

Whether the rail project teams require help with any technical service such as their earthing / grounding bonding / coupling designs or whether they need materials to help with installations on something such as signalling earthing / grounding the FM Sudafix Group will be happy to help.

Working in the lightning protection segment of the electrical safety sector often means that you come across some dramatic, often quite terrifying, photographs of the effects of lightning. Burning buildings or sensitive electronic machinery are commonplace images and each time someone from the FM Sudafix Group sees them it is disappointing because invariably that damage could have been avoided if an effective system had been designed and installed. That being said occasionally we are fortunate enough to see photographs of the lightning event captured as it happened. Every time a photographer manages to capture an image of lightning it is impressive because the moment that lightning is visible is incredibly brief.

Such is the difficulty in taking a good photograph of lightning that some people devote an enormous amount of time to the endeavour, such as the person who had spent so many years trying to photograph lightning striking The Statue of Liberty. Often these photographers are amateurs, but this does not mean that their work is not frequently impressive such as American Sean Heavey who has captured some wonderful photos. Click on his name to read more about his work that has so impressed the National Geographic.

The Nottingham branch of the FM Sudafix Group is officially closed today (01.12.10) due to the harsh weather system that has been affecting the British Isles over the last week. Covering domestic operations and providing technical and logistical support to all of the associate enterprises, the Nottingham branch is the central hub of all functions within the FM Sudafix Group. Calum Heath, General Manager of the FM Sudafix Group, met with Steve Hutchinson the Group CEO, yesterday to agree the measures that may be required if the weather deteriorated further in the East Midlands of the United Kingdom.

Calum Heath advised the web team, “On the afternoon of November 30th we took the unprecedented step of closing the Nottingham branch due to the exigent weather conditions. We staged the egress of staff so that those who live in outlying areas, or locations with steep hills, left the offices first whilst a skeleton crew remained to maintain business continuity as long as possible, and to undertake various safety and security measures. Whilst I know that our great customers are aware of the weather challenges facing us at the moment they can contact the appropriate managers via Skype, emails, or in extreme emergencies their mobile telephones, although I would ask them to keep their expectations realistic as inter-departmental interfacing is likely to be very difficult.

“I have been in touch with various members of staff to check that they got home okay, and a few of them had some interesting stories. It took some of them two hours to travel just a couple of miles in their cars. My favourite story was how our Communications Director, Sean Elliott-Maher got home. First it took him nearly two hours to get the few miles to John Maher’s house where he changed out of his suit into full ski gear and hiking boots to then walk the remaining few miles home through snow that was over a foot deep in places, having to stop to help push stranded cars on the way. As I understand it he spent over three hours trying to get home, and we always joke that he ‘only lives around the corner’ from work!

“The heavy snow over night has presented more difficulties, and I have been advised that a number of our staff are snowed in and cannot currently get out of their homes. Perhaps if we had left it any longer before leaving yesterday we would have been snowed in the office! We fully expect that normal service at the Nottingham branch will resume tomorrow, but if the weather and transport situation remains the same I will not be asking our staff to take any unnecessary risks.

Have a look at some of the photos from the office…

FM Sudafix Snowed In
5 photos
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