GMI Construction Group has announced that Gary Oates has been appointed to the newly created position of Divisional Managing Director North East in recognition of the region’s growing importance to the business.
Gary has already spent 14 months as Operations Director North East, tasked with establishing a greater presence in an area that previously fell within GMI’s Yorkshire division.
During this time, he established an office on Teesside and is currently in the process of moving to larger premises in Stockton-on-Te es to accommodate a 25-strong construction management team.
GMI, one of the largest independent construction firms in the North of England and the Midlands, is currently principal contractor on several high-profile North East projects, including 362,600 sq. ft of commercial units at Hillthorn Business Park, Washington, the 650,000 sq. ft Connect warehouse and logistics scheme at the Integra 61 development near Bowburn, while recently completing the construction phase of North Durham Retail Park, near Durham’s Arnsion Centre.
Lee Powell, Chief Executive Officer of GMI Construction Group, said: “The North East is hugely important to this business and there are many exciting projects in the pipeline that support levelling up across the region.
“GMI already has a proud history in the North East and is excited to be delivering the infrastructure necessary to achieve economic growth and prosperity.
“Appointing Gary to this new role of Divisional Managing Director underlines our commitment to the North East while recognising Gary’s outstanding contribution in further strengthening our presence here.”
Gary initially spent more than 16 years with GMI Construction Group, starting as a Site Manager and progressing to Contracts Manager, before finally re-joining the company in October 2021 from TSL Projects where he was Project Director.
He said: “I’m excited to be given the opportunity to continue delivering major projects in the North East and ensuring that GMI is the go-to construction partner for clients.
“This company is also dedicated to working with the local supply chain whenever possible and I look forward to strengthening our relationships with suppliers and contractors across the region.”
Established in 1986, with offices in Leeds, Manchester, and Birmingham, GMI has worked on several major projects in the North East including Spennymoor’s 450,000 sq. ft Thorn Lighting factory, the 126,278 sq. ft Centre of Excellence in Sustainable Advanced Manufacturing Park (CESAM) at Sunderland, the nearby Vantec 1 and 3 distribution centres, and the DWP offices in South Shields.