The history of Aqua

Aqua Fabrications began in 1988 as the brainchild of Ian and Lynda Smith. Whilst working on a customers site Ian saw a railway engineer digging a trench. Back then there was no real Health and Safety and Ian crossed over the track to ask the engineer what he was doing.

The engineer was installing clay pipe as a drainage system, from this Ian decided to introduce plastic pipes to the rail industry as he knew they offered many benefits over clay, including ease of installation. So along with his wife Lynda they created Aqua, and from then on the company has grown in strength.

Through the subsequent decades Aqua has been instrumental in innovating how railway infrastructure is constructed, including introducing Reforme, the first railway specific Geocomposite; some of the other innovation highlights have been:

  • Tracktex® sand blanket replacement geocomposite
  • Thieel and SE HDPE Chambers
  • Preformed GRP Sump Units
  • Derby GRP Catch-pit Frames
  • Belvedere Composite Headwalls
  • Track Access Matting (TAMS & V-RAM)
  • Aqualine Trough System
  • Carlisle Composite Cascades
  • Hi-pact DitchLinner
  • TrenchBox

Social Values & Sustainability

Aqua is committed to providing a sustainable social strategy for the community and environment surrounding its location and beyond.

Employment

Aqua is committed to providing jobs for local people – in 2023 37 people were employed from the local Skelmersdale area, with a further 13 living within a 7 mile radius of the factory complex.

Our teams come from a variety of diverse backgrounds including social and special educational needs.

Aqua offers support to young people in the form of apprenticeships, following which, many apprentices go on to work full time within the company; with even their children then becoming apprentices. Training is in conjunction with local

educational institutes, to ensure apprentices receive formally recognised qualifications in addition to on-the-job training.

Aqua is committed to providing a living wage for all it’s employees and even increased wages to help cover the cost of living rises experienced between 2020 and 2023.

Local Businesses

Aqua consistently looks to use local businesses within its supply chain, wherever possible utilising companies in the local Skelmersdale area first, then those in the North West before looking further afield.

Giving Back

Aqua sponsor and donate to a variety of clubs and charities as we believe in giving something back to people who strive to help others.

Locally, we currently sponsor two children’s football teams, Billinge Juniors and Clay Brow Juniors in addition to an amateur rugby team – Cutsyke Raiders/Raidettes ARLFC.

Rugby League and Children’s football are known for being family orientated sports which bring communities and cultures closer together, through an all-inclusive approach.

Nationally, Aqua also organise a series of regional charity events throughout the year to help local charities such as Ayrshire Hospice and Claire House Children’s Hospice. These local charities help the communities surrounding them with some of the most serious and terminally ill.

Wellbeing

At the core of Aqua’s ethos, is the desire to provide a happy environment for all employees , nurturing a positive mental wellbeing.

The culture of inclusion, where everyone matters, is central to our beliefs; all members of staff are treated with respect and know they are welcomed as part of a team, with the ability to freely express themselves or their concerns.

Environmental

Aqua is committed to reducing its carbon footprint and will reach net zero by 2050. In order to best achieve this, Aqua is working with an environmental consultancy to create and implement a strategy to achieve this whilst also advising on local schemes and projects which the business can assist with. Aqua has created a rural space within it’s factory complex that includes trees and wildflower growth in an effort to provide a wildlife oasis within an industrial area.

Aqua has achieved a ‘Zero Waste to Landfill’ policy, through the introduction of a number of recycling initiatives including the recycling of all HDPE, GRP and cardboard waste generated by the business; in addition waste cans and bottles are also segregated and recycled, with staff members encouraged to use multi-use vessels wherever possible.