Owners of Cartref Caravan and Camping site in Ford Heath, Shrewsbury have selected Pipekit to supply all pipework needs for its ongoing drainage and pitch improvements, as they seek to create an award winning, family camping and caravanning site. CS Towers Company purchased the site in June 2015 having been impressed with the basic imprint and set about on an extensive refurbishment programme to drive up standards. The Cartref team wanted to work with local suppliers, where possible, and having met Shrewsbury based Pipekit at a local trade show - Salop Leisure - they were impressed with Pipekit’s breadth of product choice and technical expertise. Based on Pipekit’s recommendations, Cartref selected MDPE water pipe and a range of pipework and fittings from the Floplast and Philmac brands to meet the diverse range of drainage and mains and grey water service upgrades required on site. Improving the land drainage across the whole site was the first requirement. With the natural lie of the land and surrounding ditches and ponds, a number of the pitches and camping areas were prone to flooding. Drainage alterations were therefore a prerequisite to keep the future site working to optimum capacity during wet periods and/or during winter months. Particularly in light of the business applying for a 12 month operating license. This saw Cartref altering the lie of the land in the flood prone areas and installing a new drainage pipework network to those locations. Pipekit supplied 110MM Floplast underground drainage pipework and fittings to channel surface level run off into the natural ditches around the site. This dramatically improved the site’s flood management capabilities and has brought into use some areas of the site which had previously been unreliable. In doing this, Cartref Caravan and Camping added 14 fully serviced pitches. Upgrading the caravan pitches was always an essential part of the original business plan. When the current owners took over, Cartref Caravan and Camping had 46 hard standing pitches with standard electric hook up. But the ambition of the Cartref team is to transform every pitch into a full service offering, with electric hook up, mains water connection and grey water drainage to help turn the site into a home from home. An ambition that is also reflected in the name of Cartref, which translated from Welsh simply means ‘home’. To date the Cartref team has converted 35 standard pitches to fully serviced, with further plans to upgrade all existing standard pitches by the end of 2017. A combination of 600 metres of 25 and 32mm MDPE pipework and Philmac compression fittings were used to install mains water and grey waste drainage provision into each fully serviced pitch and connect the water and drainage networks across the site. Pipekit has further supplied all the drainage and water connections required for a small, quirky bar - ‘Bartref’ - to the site. An addition that stocks local ales and even a Shropshire gin to carry on the campsite’s ethos of stocking and supporting local produce and suppliers. Commenting on their evolving business, Katrina Williams, one of the management team said: “By buying into this campsite, we have attempted to take our passion of caravanning and turn it into a successful business. Everything we’re doing is about creating a high quality environment that we would like to stay and holiday in and offer it to our guests. Part of that is our investment in high quality drainage and services. However during our upgrades and work, we have always been keen to protect our abundant wildlife and are aiming for a Davis Bellamy award”. She continues, “Born and bred in Shropshire, we would like this to be a celebration of our county and that extends to the people we work with to create, maintain and evolve this business over time. In the past we have worked with a national pipe company for our building requirements. But it’s great to be able to support a local independent who can offer us the same like for like products and ranges, with the account relationship held at a local level. We have enjoyed working with the Pipekit team, in terms of their accessibility, technical expertise and fulfilment and will continue to use them in the future development of the site”. Martyn Rowlands, M.D of Pipekit added: “It was great to see a speculative introduction at a trade show bloom into a good working relationship. We’re a local business with a national and international outreach. But it’s always a little more satisfying to see the local projects evolve and know that you have played a part in improving that business”. Pipekit stocks a comprehensive range of leading plastic pipe products including; Marley, Durapipe, Naylor, Floplast, Georg Fischer, Gemu, Fusion, Philmac, Astore and John Guest. Pipekit’s trade counter and showroom, based in Annscroft, Shrewsbury, welcomes all trade customers during opening hours: 8am - 5pm Monday to Friday. For further information log onto: www.pipekit.co.uk, telephone: 01743 860088, email: enquiries@pipekit.co.uk or tweet @pipekit For more information on Cartref Caravan and Camping log onto: www.cartrefcaravansite.co.uk or call: 01743 821688.