GLASGOW—May 12, 2010

City Building’s Managing Director, Willie Docherty, Celtic’s Johan Mjallby and Robert Mooney from RSBi

THE past year has seen the bi-centenary of the birth of Louis Braille, the Frenchman who invented Braille reading for the blind. To commemorate the event, Royal Strathclyde Blindcraft Industries (RSBi) has produced two special commemorative metal plaques that will be fixed to the walls of Celtic Park and Rangers’ Ibrox Stadium. Celtic interim assistant manager Johan Mjallby and Rangers player Kevin Thomson unveiled the plaques recently alongside City Building Managing Director Willie Docherty and RSBi representative Robert Mooney.

RSBi is the manufacturing division of City Building, one of Scotland’s largest construction companies employing staff of various abilities including a large number of blind and partially sighted workers. The plaques will contain a famous quote from each club and appear in type and in Braille.

City Building Managing Director Willie Docherty commented: “Royal Strathclyde Blindcraft Industries (RSBi) is one of Europe’s largest supported workshops and employs some 260 people, over 50% of whom have a disability.  This includes 30 visually impaired workers, all of whom do exactly the same job as their sighted colleagues and work to a very high standard.

“In Scotland, there are over 36,000 people living with sight loss, many of whom struggle to find meaningful employment.  As operator of RSBi, City Building is proud to support all our workers, including those with a visual impairment and for their contribution to help us develop what is now a successful, commercial business.
When City Building took over the operation of RSBi 2 years ago, the business was losing some £2million per year.

“In a short space of time, we’ve harnessed the skills and potential within the factory and used this to tap into new markets, including timber kits for houses and schools, to turn the business into a profitable one, with real opportunities for the workers and the local community.

“We’re delighted to highlight the invaluable contribution Louis Braille made over 200 years ago to people with sight loss, with many of those with visual impairment in our factory using Braille on a daily basis to help enhance their lives.”

Media Enquiries
Please contact Mel Brookes, City Building’s Marketing Manager in the first instance on +44 (0)141 287 1956, +44 (0)7734 597296 or e-mail melanie.brookes@citybuildingglasgow.co.uk

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