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F a growing groundworks and civil engineering company wins regular repeat business, has outstanding staff retention and regularly wins awards, its success is clearly not a matter of chance. When building contractor Tom OBrien started his own business in 1958, he could not have dreamed of the growth and success that lay ahead. Today, while OBrien Contractors is still a family-run business based in Leamington Spa, it enjoys a growing national reputation. It has just been named Contractor of the Year in the Building Awards 2014, the most prestigious awards in the UK construction and civil engineering sector. OBrien customers were not surprised to learn of the latest recognition, which follows a number of other national and local award successes. As for OBrien itself, the company does not set out to win awards but regards them as a bonus, a by-product of carrying out excellent work. Toms son, Peter OBrien, is the companys managing director and he says, The strategy weve been working to has been firmly grounded in a vision for the future in which OBriens continues to deliver excellent projects for our customers and provide a supportive and motivational workplace where people feel valued and have a clear path of progression. With the building sector always the first to suffer in any recession, strong leadership has been key to OBriens growth through the recent tough times. Over four years, a carefully charted diversification initiative saw it evolve from its role as a specialist sub-contractor. Now, as a principal design and build contractor, it can meet every requirement of a civil engineering project. The company results speak for themselves, with improvement in every key business measurement from productivity to profit. The bare numbers really come to life when customers, suppliers and business partners are given the opportunity to comment upon OBrien Contractors. Derbyshire is the site of its largest
career development means that promotion from within is a regular occurrence. Most importantly, the OBrien approach to health and safety has delivered an exceptional and improving record. It employs a specialist consultancy, Hudson Health & Safety Services, which says:
OBriens commitment to H&S is very impressive and continually exceeds common practice in their sector. OBrien Contractors set standards in so many areas: customer and supplier relations, human resources policies, health and safety. These do
>>Steve Speller, Joint Managing Director, Speller Metcalfe and, right, BREEAM Outstanding score of 100.5 per cent at Western Power Distribution
the West Midlands Contractor Framework later this year, where Speller Metcalfe has consistently stayed at the top of the KPI scoring table just over the last year alone both examples of our long-term commitment to quality and best practise and certainly what contributed to seeing us through the more difficult years of the recession. As we move forward our turnover, forward secured workload and
average project values also reflect our ability to grow with our clients and deliver on a range of scheme types; two years ago our average sized project was 3.1m where now it is 8m - although we are currently working on schemes up to the value
of 22m. For 2014-15, our turnover is estimated to be 106m with 90 per cent of our workload already secured, which is fantastic achievement at the start of our financial year. We are now in a position where we
are stabilising staff levels and company practises to ensure that our existing clients continue to receive our familiar, family-run business approach and high quality of service that Speller Metcalfe has become renowned for.
DESIGN & BUILD CONTRACTORS Specialists in: Pre-Construction Services Groundworks Civil Engineering Infrastructure Developments Sports Pitch Construction Plant Hire
www.obriencontractors.co.uk
T: 01926 423918 E: info@obriencontractors.co.uk
>>The University of Leicester Centre for Medicine, currently being built by Willmott Dixon
TS a strange thing talking about business success, particularly in the construction industry, which hasnt had much to shout about over the last few years. Success can take many forms; just surviving through the recession could be deemed a success, and why not? A lot of firms were unfortunately unsuccessful in their battle against the downturn, so those who weathered the storm should be rightly proud of their achievement. Wilmott Dixon is enjoying success on a number of fronts, not least the fact that this year the companys various businesses in the region are planning to significantly expand their workforce by recruiting 200 people to support their growth plans. This follows the creation of 100 jobs last year, meaning that Willmott Dixon now employs more than 1,000 in the West Midlands. The firms recruitment plans are a big indicator of the wider economic growth thats envisaged across the region in 2014 and beyond, and the growth thats forecast for the business across its Construction, Housing and Partnerships divisions. In the Midlands, the order book for Construction currently stands at around 150 million for the year. Furthermore, we are in the fortunate position of having already secured this years target turnover and a significant proportion of next years. We are currently looking at how we might successfully increase the targets and deliver better results. Local authority procurement frameworks, such as SCAPE and
Construction West Midlands (CWM), continue to be an important source of work, with Willmott Dixon currently working on more than 100 million worth of projects awarded through various frameworks, including amongst many others a new leisure centre in Coventry city centre to replace the previous AT7 pool, a Hub & Visual Arts Building for Loughborough College and the new Clubhouse Stand at Moseley RFC. Equally as important to Willmott Dixon is the tendering market, particularly for projects in the commercial, health, science and technology, and education, including HEFE sectors, all of which Willmott Dixon has considerable experience of. In the HEFE sector, major projects include the 46 million second phase of Birmingham City Universitys new campus in East Side, following the successful completion of phase one, the Parkside Building, last year. The Parkside Building is regarded as one of the most advanced teaching and learning spaces in the country, providing world-class design, technology and media facilities for students, as well as being an exemplar of best practice with an excellent internal environment, good accessibility and is highly sustainable in terms of design, construction and operation. Willmott Dixon is also building a new 29 million Centre for Medicine for the University of Leicester, which is the largest non-residential project in the UK to meet Passivhaus standards. The company is establishing a strong reputation in the commercial office sector too, whether its for new build projects, fit-outs or refurbishments. Refurbishment offers the opportunity not just for cosmetic improvements, but also achieving significant OpEx cost savings: a
>>Birmingham City Universitys new Parkside Building, which was completed by Willmott Dixon last year.
compelling argument for any tenant in challenging economic times. Before embarking on any improvements, landlords need to establish how their buildings are currently performing. This will require a technical investigation, starting with a
structural examination, an assessment of performance standards, review of equipment and feedback from occupiers. An energy and building fabric survey of a typical 1970s office building, for example, may identify a
wide range of measures for improving the space, including heating system upgrades, wall insulation and improvements to lighting systems. Together with improvements to service controls and energy management within the building, a 35 per cent reduction in building carbon emissions could be achieved. Of course, it isnt just about meeting green standards. A new office whether that involves a move or transforming existing space - is also an opportunity to change the way people view their workplace, boost productivity and encourage a more dynamic attitude to work. So whether your motivation is saving money, improving energy efficiency or just creating a better working environment, Willmott Dixon can provide the right solution for you. In Leicester, for example, Willmott Dixon is nearing the completion of the relocation of the Leicester City Council offices from the New Walk Centre to the currently undergoing refurbishment of a nearby 1960s office block to create a new City Hall, while in Derby city centre the company is building a new office for start-up businesses in its Cathedral Quarter for Derby City Council. The commercial office market is certainly an area that we are seeing increased activity and one we expect to see further success in the future. Combine this with growth in other sectors, such as HEFE/education, leisure and culture, health, custodial, as well as across other divisions, including housing and Partnerships, which is responsible for delivering repairs and maintenance to 60,000 properties owned by Birmingham City Council, and its clear that the business is in a good position to continue the trend for growth that it has seen over the past few years.
@thomas_vale WWW.THOMASVALE.COM
A Bouygues UK Company
>>Architects impression of the new West Bromwich Building Society Headquarters, courtesy of Associated Architects
>>Craig Tatton (centre) takes the reins at Thomas Vale, part of one of the worlds largest industry groups, Bouygues Construction
>>Wilkinson Primary School follows in the footsteps of the UKs rst accredited Passivhaus schemes Oakmeadow and Bushbury Hill, also constructed by Thomas Vale
One of the largest privately owned First major contractor to implement Over 1m invested each year companies in the UK specialising in BIM 360 at 47m Canalside project in Research and Development construction, development and support with Birmingham City University Employing nearly 100 management services Carbon Neutral business trainees and 64 apprentices Over 1000 employees in the West (Carbon Trust standards) 2m invested each year Midlands with 100 new jobs created in on training staff the last year with plans to recruit 200 more across the region in 2014 linkedin.com/company/willmottdixon @willmottdixon www.willmottdixon.co.uk