A fast-expanding North East company has added two civil engineering experts to its board of directors as it sets out plans its next stage of growth, 10 years after a management buyout that saw turnover increase by 240 percent in a decade.
The Owen Pugh Group has appointed Jonathan Grant as group commercial director and Andrew Jackson, non-executive director, joining Robin Armstrong, group logistics director and John Dickson, company chairman and managing director as they lay out their vision for the company’s development over the next five years.
Grant joins the business with significant commercial management experience having spent 15 years in main contracting, mostrecently at Willmott Dixon Construction, initially as a senior surveyor progressing to North East Commercial Manager while Jackson boasts a wealth of experience in construction and the built environment, having spent 27 years with global engineering giant Laing O’Rourke. The board is bolstered by Armstrong who has been employed at Owen Pugh for 35 years progressing through the business from site engineer to logistics director with group-wide responsibility for sales, business development and resource optimisation, and Dickson who has been at the helm of the business since 2005.
Plans include continued investment in leading edge technology to drive efficiency and productivity leading eventually to the use of BIM for all civil engineering projects. The group will continue to develop and grow business across the wider North East backed up by investment in the real estate and facilities required to support the business.
Dickson commented: “My vision from day one was to expand the breadth and diversity of the business and move the company up the food chain by capturing more added value. Despite ongoing challenges, we’ve managed to do this by maximising opportunities and responding to the demands of the market and through continuous investment across the business to ensure we’re operating at the forefront of the sector.
“The appointment of Andrew and Jonathan to the board, both of whom boast a wealth of sector experience, will ensure that we continue on our growth trajectory. The next five years are set to be significant for the business as we expand the business to cover the whole region from the Humber to the Tweed”.
The move coincides with the 10 year anniversary since John Dickson took over the business from the Pugh family. Since 2005 the company has added Owen Pugh GDC, HCS Drain Services as well as its construction and training arms to the already established haulage and plant hire, contracts and aggregates businesses. Staff headcount has grown almost three-fold from 150 to 420 and turnover has increased from £15million in 2005 to an expected £39million for the year 2014 to 2015.
Dickson added: “I’m extremely proud of what we’ve achieved as a business over the past decade which is true testament to the commitment and hard work of everyone involved.”
The Owen Pugh Group comprises five trading companies operating in the civil engineering industry, undertaking earthmoving and demolition, drainage and groundworks, plant hire and haulage, quarrying, inert waste and drain cleaning, and CCTV surveys. The group, which employs more than 420 staff across its divisions, is headquartered in Dudley near Cramlington, with other bases in Blaydon, Sunderland, Stockton-on-Tees and Marsden Quarry.
For further information about the Owen Pugh Group visit www.owenpugh.com.