b'S R A EY LY R AE E H TIt wasnt uncommon for steel to go missing,own operation, they now had control.to be overlooked or to be delivered out ofBut the setup at Dixon & Haddons first sequence. It created real headaches for theworkshop was rudimentary. Its neighbours rigging team. Your site gets held up; theyregularly complained about dust from the cant continue because the steels mistakenlyprocess, which the wind would carry across on someone elses truck or its still sitting atSpan Farm and beyond. So the location andthe damn paint shop.design of Dixon & Haddons new purpose-built And paint shops of the day couldnt befactory needed to be suitable for its blasting relied upon to do their own quality assurance,and painting operation.placing the onus on fabricators to checkit themselves. So Dixon & Haddon chose to set up ablast and paint shop first. If the teamAbove: Dixon & Haddon established its own happened to miss a beam during fabrication,on-site blasting and painting operation to it could turn it around overnightfabricategain control over the process. it, paint it and have it on a truck the next morning. Thats how we got our reputation for being quick, says Bob.Meanwhile, they solved the absenceof a beamline by continuing to work withCyril Baker. Looking back, Bob and Barry reckon they made the right decision to follow the blasting and painting path. At the time, they were doing a lot of jobs for the Ministry of Works, a challenging client that demanded precision and a high-quality paint finish. With their37'