A FIRM from March has helped turn more than 26 tonnes of steel into a new Hovercraft Rescue Station in Southend-on-Sea.

SDM Fabrication Ltd, based in Foundry Way, joined forces with Sawtry-based East Anglian Galvanizing to create the lifeboat station.

The two-storey frame with a curved roof will house the lifeboat charity RNLI’s dedicated hovercraft, which is used to rescue people stranded in the mudflats of Southend-on-Sea.

With top speeds of 30mph, the hovercraft can cut rescue times down to eight minutes compared with 20 minutes for a standard lifeboat.

Richard Melton, Managing Director of SDM Fabrication Ltd, said: “East Anglian Galvanizing is a long-standing partner of ours, and as always, we’ve seen a quick turnaround and a high level of professionalism on this project.

“They were tasked with galvanizing the structure to withstand the harsh salt water conditions on the coast, and their technical and logistical resources were invaluable on this project.”

The new station, which is one of 233 across the UK, will help ease the pressure on Southend-on-Sea RNLI.

The rescue station is one of the busiest in the country and scrambles for an average of 100 rescue missions each year.

Since 1879, the lifeboat crews of Southend-on-Sea have saved over 2,000 lives.

For more information on SDM Fabrication Limited, which is a leading fabricator of structural steelwork, visit www.sdmstructures.com