ASH Drywall

At ASH Drywall, this one means a lot.

This year, a team of 13 riders (made up of colleagues, friends and family), will be taking on the Skyline London to Brighton Cycle Ride. We’re doing it in memory of our much-loved Director and friend, Alex Wallace.

Alex was part of the very fabric of ASH Drywall, helping to build the business into what it is today. More importantly, he was known for his kindness, patience and the time he generously gave to others. He was a mentor and a friend to so many of us.

In so many ways, this ride is also deeply nostalgic. In the 1990s, ASH Drywall regularly took part in the London to Brighton ride – so this feels like a fitting moment for a revival, especially as we approach our 40th year of trading this year.

We’re raising funds for the Pevensey Ward at East Sussex Healthcare NHS Charity, who cared for Alex during his treatment. Supporting this specific cause is our way of giving something back to our local community, by helping to support others going through similar experiences now.

If you’re able to support us in any way, it would mean a great deal to all the team: www.justgiving.com/team/ashdrywall

Every donation, no matter the size, will help support patients and their families – and help us to honour Alex’s memory in a way that reflects the values he stood for.

Thank you.

Delighted to share that Ash Drywall has been named High‑Risk Trade Winner on the Lancing Sub‑Contractors' Monthly Leader Board for March 2026 by Cala Homes.

This recognition reflects the continued hard work, professionalism, and strong safety culture shown by our site teams, as well as the collaborative approach across the wider project.

Well done to everyone involved - and thank you to Cala Homes and their site management team for the acknowledgement. We’re pleased to be part of a project that values quality, safety, and consistent performance.

We are incredibly proud to recognise Veniamin Sirbu for his outstanding commitment to site safety this month!

Veniamin was presented with a premium Hilti toolbox by our Director, Scott McLeary, in recognition of proactively logging the most safety observations across live projects. This award isn't just about a metric; it’s about a mindset that prioritises the well-being of every colleague on site.

Breaking the cycle of underreporting:

At ASH Drywall, we believe a genuine safety culture is built on transparency, not silence. We recognise the industry-wide trap of incentivising low accident statistics, which can inadvertently encourage safety concerns to be underreported (to maintain artificially low or suppressed accident figures).

We want to be clear: Low accident figures do not always equate to high safety standards. In our experience, they in fact (frequently) tend to indicate the opposite - that genuine concerns (and even incidents) are being ignored or "dealt with quietly" to maintain artificially low "accident statistics”, at the expense of actual improvement and the nurturing of best practice, to mitigate future risks.

At ASH Drywall, we believe it’s time the industry adopted a more nuanced, realistic and mature approach on this issue - it’s time to hit the cultural “reset button” for the better.

Our Approach:

• Valuing Observations: We don't want "quiet" sites; we want engaged sites. Every observation logged is a potential accident prevented and future working improvement secured.
  
  
• Collaboration for Compliance: We encourage genuine collaboration between everyone on site to improve working conditions.
  
  
• Voice & Value: We ensure that every voice is heard and valued, rather than relying on sanitised statistics.

Congratulations to Veniamin for leading by example and thank you to Scott for reinforcing that, at ASH Drywall, an inclusive “safety first” culture comes from being vocal, proactive, and supportive of those willing to speak up.

As many of you are aware, we recently said goodbye to one of our long-standing Directors and friends, Alex Wallace. 

Following his funeral on Friday 19 December 2025, we wanted to share a few words with the whole team to celebrate Alex’s life and the incredible impact he had on all of us at ASH Drywall.

A Pillar of the Business 
Alex was part of the very fabric of this company. He joined us as a Quantity Surveyor in the early 90’s, right at the time of our incorporation in 1993. Having been recruited by Dean Ash in those early days, he quickly became a key figure in our growth. By 2006, he was formally appointed as a Director, and alongside Dean, Collette, Steve Jones, and Paul Sumpter, he worked tirelessly to build the company into the regional success it is today.

A Mentor and Friend 
Beyond his professional competence and conscientiousness, Alex was someone who genuinely cared about the people he worked with. He was known throughout the organisation for his incredible patience and kindness. No matter the deadline or the pressure, Alex always made sure he had time for anyone who needed help. He wasn’t just a Director; he was a mentor and friend to so many of us. His absence leaves a gap that won't easily be filled, but he leaves behind a legacy of hard work, dedication and kindness that we will continue to emulate.

We are all incredibly grateful to have worked alongside Alex. He will be deeply missed by the entire team, and our thoughts are especially with his family (in particular his son and our colleague, Joe), during these most difficult of times.

Please note that Alex’s tribute page is now open for donations: https://ian-alexander-wallace.muchloved.com/.

For those of you who want to make a donation (however large or small), I’m sure this would be greatly appreciated by Alex’s family.

If making a donation, we’ve been requested to ask people to please state that “the donation is for Pevensey Ward only”.

Warm regards,

The Board of Directors 

DM & C Ash Limited (trading as “ASH Drywall”)