A NORFOLK company has won a major contract which could see its business double in the next five years at distribution centres across the country - including one in Fenland.

Frimstone, an aggregates company based in Crimplesham, near Downham Market, will be taking on extra staff after being awarded the contract from Network Rail.

The family-owned company has been awarded an initial three-year contract to manage seven local distribution centres, strategically located across the country to ensure that supply of materials to track maintenance contracts is carried out efficiently.

Figures have not been disclosed but it is believed the deal could be worth millions to Frimstone, which will manage the clean ballast stockpiles and to re-process and sell the spent ballast when it comes back into the centres at Carlisle, Doncaster, Toton in Nottinghamshire, Crewe, Bescott in Walsall, Whitemoor near March, Cambridgeshire, and Eastleigh in Hampshire.

Following the deal, staff numbers will rise from 115 to 150.

Managing director, Gary Bell said: “The award of these contracts to Frimstone demonstrates that all the work in gaining approval to use secondary granite in coated roadstone, surface dressing and ready mixed concrete has been recognised as the right thing to do.

“The use of secondary granite in these products contributes towards the UK achieving its recycling and carbon reduction targets and is a real opportunity for secondary granite to replace primary aggregates in higher quality materials.

“Frimstone looks forward to playing a major part in supplying high quality recycled materials into infra structure projects across the whole of the UK.”

The company was established in 1975. In January 1995 Frimstone was awarded a Royal Warrant for the supply of crushed and graded aggregates to the Queen at the Sandringham Estate.

Frimstone is now the largest independent aggregates business in East Anglia supplying sand, gravel and recyclable building materials to the local and regional building industry.