ACS Stainless Steel Fixings – a family run business in Cross Green – is offering its support to local communities this month, creating free of charge Silhouette Soldiers ahead of Remembrance Day.

The initiative sees ACS create steel structures of soldiers which can be displayed for Remembrance Sunday services and other community events.

It is the second year ACS has made the offer. In 2021, it created 376 silhouettes which were donated to companies including Crest Nicholson and Telford Homes PLC, as well as local communities in need.

Now, ACS hopes to create even more of the structures for 2022, inviting businesses and individuals to place an order. Colleagues at its 51,850 sq ft factory in Leeds will create four sizes of silhouettes, ranging from the small 155mm model up to an extra-large 1.5m structure – each expertly cut from a mild steel, with the welding carried out by ACS’ team of local apprentices.

The structures will be created free of charge, however a Just Giving page has been established to encourage donations to the British Legion – something ACS has a long history of supporting. The company guarantees a face-to-face interview for anyone who has served in the UK military, and has signed the Armed Forces Covenant in 2021 – a promise to help veterans and their families.

Managing director David Flannery explained: “This is an important time of year in which veterans, their families and communities can reflect on the role of the Armed Forces and its history. It is something close to our heart and something that our business continues to support.

“I am proud of the extra work put in by ACS colleagues as they create these structures and look forward to donating them to more communities and businesses across the country; I would encourage anyone to get in touch to see if we can help and give something back this Remembrance Sunday.”

ACS is a leading Yorkshire manufacturer and designer of structural building components, including but not exclusive to wall ties, windposts, masonry support and brick slip systems – all essential components used for the construction of modern-day structures, large or small. The 117-strong team operate from a factory in Yorkshire.