07:57 am, Thursday 21 February, 2008

Source: Lithgrow Mercury

Howard and Sons are now working vigorously on rebuilding and upgrading their facilities at Wallerawang following last December’s massive blast.

The blast resulted in most buildings on the property being damaged in one form or another, with everything being either repaired or rebuilt over the coming months.

Company Director Andrew Howard said a dedicated rebuilding team, separate to the normal production team, has been assigned which will allow the production team to continue to deliver all projects as planned.

“We have not yet been able to determine the likely cause of the incident and we are assisting NSW WorkCover in their investigations to determine the cause,” Andrew said.

Andrew and his brother Christian have already drawn up plans to improve on the facility’s already high standard of security and safety to minimise future risk with the aim of this same scale incident to never occur again.

“The Howard and Sons family of staff have remained positive throughout this experience and everyone is looking forward to the exciting new future of our manufacturing facility and a variety of projects to be completed in 2008.

“Our gratitude to our entire team of staff for pulling together in such a difficult time is not possible to put in words and I know we would not come as far without their dedication, commitment and positive attitudes, which really makes Howard and Sons the successful family business it is.

“I’m very proud and appreciative of everyone’s efforts,” he said.

“Howard and Sons Pyrotechnics already has some exciting displays booked for 2008 including 40th Anniversary National Day Celebrations in Nauru, Adelaide’s Clipsal 500, Adelaide Art Festival Opening Night, Moomba Festival in Melbourne, Sydney Royal Easter Show, a regional Australia and European ‘Crusty Demons’ Tour, and invitations to international fireworks competitions in Montreal and Malaysia where we will compete against the best pyrotechnic companies from around the world and aim to bring home the gold medal for Australia.

“We would like to thank you for your continued offers of help and support which have certainly attributed to us being able to continue operating business as usual.

New Years Eve fireworks displays have been presented around Australia, despite the setback, notably Melbourne, Brisbane, and Adelaide’s City displays while there were also displays on Australia Day, including Perth’s Skyworks, the largest fireworks display on Australia Day.

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