It’s clear that businesses will need rock salt in the coming months to keep roads, paths, surfaces and loading areas clear of ice.
Questions like what is rock salt? And where can you buy it in the UK pop up every time the winter weather approaches. We’ll help you answer questions then we’ll help your business manage what could be a challenging winter period.
We’ve just had the first dusting of snow in the UK, and we wonder, is this a taste of things to come?
Let’s get straight to the point of this page, BHI supplies have some great offers on Rocksalt, grit, de-icers, grit bins and shovels.
You can pick up 20kg bags of brown rock salt from £3.15 plus VAT and transportation.
If you need order bulk bags of rock salt, we have 500kg bags of brown salt from £79.75 plus VAT and transportation.
We have 800kg bags available for the really heavy users (warehouses, transportation hubs, shopping centres, construction sites)
BHI offer nationwide gritting and salt supply services.
We can deliver to most mainland locations, but increasing demand and weather conditions may impact this.
We’re based in South Yorkshire so the surrounding areas are the easiest to supply.
Greater Manchester, Leeds, York, Leicester, Nottingham, Hull, Birmingham and the Midlands.
Which de-icer is best? Rock salt, grit or elbow grease?
BHI have good stocks, at the time of writing, for brown grit salt, white rock salt, de-icing products, ice melt, snow shovels and grit salt bins.
Brown salt is the cheaper option, but we do have white salt in all three weight combinations call us for more details – 01709 527 603
We’ll help you pick the right bags of grit salt that you need.
You can buy individual bags of rock salt from BHI, but it may be more cost-effective to pick them up from our stores (social distancing required) as the carriage charges are based upon weight.
This can add up unless you are ordering in pallet loads which does make ordering rock salt more cost-effective.
Read on if you want to know more about rock salt and why you should look at buying it now before the winter takes hold.
How does rock salt work to “melt ice” and clear roads?
The main challenge businesses face is the impact on the supply of rock salt, grit and de-icing products which happens when the first major frost or a severe weather warning.
In the UK this typically happens in January but as we’ve already seen the snow and ice can hit Blighty as early as December.
Question is: Is this a taste of things to come?
Maybe! Possibly!
Think about your own situation: How much rock salt do you have right now?
do you have enough de-icing salt for driveways, paths and loading areas?
Do you need to top up those supplies?
How many days’ worth of salt do you have?
What happens if we have a prolonged severe weather warning?
Do you need an alternative to salt for melting ice? We have those solutions.
I know, I know it’s not a glamorous topic, but it causes problems for people and businesses every year, and it’s one of those things that can be avoided if you know the right suppliers.
Searches for “road salt for sale” “bulk rock salt” trend up as the bad hits or is about to.
Hopefully this post will help people avoid some of the bottlenecks and frustration with supply issues that happen every year.
What is rock salt?
Well unless we’re talking about Himalayan rock salt, the salt used by gritters to de-ice roads, surfaces and pathways is actually called Halite.
Rock salt is the industrial name it goes by which can be confusing as that’s also a product name people look for when shopping for food seasonings.
But as we’re talking about keeping surfaces clear of ice and snow, it makes little sense me talking about your recommended daily mineral intake.
How does rocksalt work on icy roads and surfaces?
How does salt melt ice?
Well, it doesn’t!
It’s actually not about melting; it’s more about the freezing process.
You’re probably thinking wait what? How does that work then?
Well, the chemical structure of salt rock (Sodium Chloride) disrupts the way that water freezes and forms ice.
We’ll save you the chemistry lesson here so the highlights are; as the salt makes contact with ice it lowers the freezing point of the water leading to the ice quote “melting” this reaction causes more salt ions to be absorbed by the “free” water creating more disruption and thus making the ice seemingly “melt”.
Until you have slush which dissipates or can be swept/pushed away to leave clear roads and surfaces ideal for traction.
The main issue people have every year is sourcing a reliable supply of the right grit, rock salt and de-icers for their needs.
This happens every year and every year people face the challenge of sourcing salt and the very real prospect of paying well over the odds for it.
Whether it be for driveways at home or massive operational work sites like warehouses, transport hubs, construction sites or even shopping centres, the challenges are similar, it’s just the scale that changes.
Buy your grit salt supplies before they dry up
The real frustration arises just as supplies begin to diminish, which usually occurs right around the time of first major frost or severe weather warnings.
This triggers an oh bleep moment, and people scramble to buy in rock salt as fast as they can get to their phones.
Now unless you’ve been living under a rock, we’ve all just seen what happens when demand outstrips supply with the PPE shortages in 2020.
So be aware because the rock salt supply situation shouldn’t really be a surprise because it happens every year!
What makes things even more frustrating is as the bad weather approaches, local authorities take over control of mines and the salt supplies.
That means that even if you could afford the ridiculously inflated prices, you can’t even buy the stocks as the councils have first dibs on all the rock salt to make sure the roads are clear.
Which is kind of important, right?
Buying rock salt today can save you a lot of time, energy, & money tomorrow
As mentioned, this happens every year it’s just a question of how long the icy weather lasts that determines the impact to the supply of grit and rock salt available to private business.
In other words, the harsher and longer the winter, the less salt is available to buy.
For this main reason BHI would recommend looking at buying your supply of winter products, before the bad weather hits.
And considering the current economic situation, do businesses really need something else to deal with on top of everything else?
Er… No!
A little caveat here, there are reports or more accurately, predictions that because we’ve had a few mild winters, this coming winter may be a little harsher.
Which considering 2020 so far, I wouldn’t be surprised if it made the film The Day After Tomorrow look something like Mad Max.
Or maybe even a combination of the two…anyway.
One major consideration your business will face is; do you buy your salt now, or do you risk it for a biscuit and take your chances competing for rock salt with everyone else in the UK who didn’t stock up beforehand?
Because it’s a reasonable certainty that prices will inflate as demand outstrips supply.
During a typical winter you can expect to pay up to 2, 3 or even 10 times as much for grit and salt as you would have done in say early December.
If you buy your grit and rock salt now you can save a lot of stress
To put it another way, fast forward a month or two and if I offered you guaranteed rock salt at early December prices, just how many of my fingers would you snap off?
Some of you may be thinking of taking a chance and holding off buying, or maybe you’ve not even thought about it, what with all the uncertainty surrounding lockdowns, tiers and of course real tears.
It’s certainly a strange time, and we get it, but and it is a big but.
If your business is open or you are hoping it will be, do you want to spend hours, days or even weeks looking to buy products like rock salt when your focus should be on making money or more specifically making a profit?
What we’re talking about here is trying to hedge against potential headaches which may cost you a lot more than a pallet of salt would today.
If properly stored in dry locations, rock salt can last multiple years, so it’s not like you’re buying flowers or even bread, and you know what they say, winter is coming!
Check out that dated reference! And I’m not gonna do the voice!
The real question is:
Is it better to have the salt and not need it than need it and not have it?
What can you do about buying rock salt today?
If you need large amounts, then we would suggest moving quickly because of the logistics involved.
BHI can help you with that before costs rise, backlogs build, and supply dwindles.
As Christmas is fast approaching this will impact some logistical elements so bear that in mind.
If you don’t need that much, then a cheeky little look on Google shows some decent offers on 20kg bags of brown and white salt.
As listed above know BHI have some great prices that even beat the mighty Google so it may be worthwhile giving us a call – 01709 527 603
20kg of brown rock salt from £3.15 plus VAT and Transport
It may help to think of it this way; if you buy before the winter takes hold, you may just save you a great deal of time, energy and of course money.
But the price isn’t the whole story as some people find out usually too late.
Do the suppliers have enough stock for what you will potentially need?
Not just for today but in a month or two’s time?
Can they deliver the amount you need?
What is their supply line like, is it reliable?
Are they just taking forward orders?
What if they are just looking to get the sale today which may end up costing you tomorrow?
After all, what are you paying for?
If you answered rock salt, okay, okay, maybe, that’s obvious.
But what would you pay for the assurance, the confidence that a supplier can deliver what you need when you need it?
In essence, to get rid of any headaches.
Right now, you can source rock salt all around the UK, it’s in abundance, but within a few weeks, it will become harder and harder to source.
Maybe the best way is to make those calls now before it’s too late.
You just need to find a supplier that is cost-effective, reliable and perhaps will make buying the salt Simple, Easy, and Effective.
BHI can help you with that so give us a call – 01709 527 603
We supply some the UK’s leading companies with rock salt every year, and because of this, we can make things simple for you and your business no matter what your requirements.
BHI are bulk rock salt wholesalers,