‘Mini-Boom’ In Minor Contracts Demand

‘Mini-Boom’ In Minor Contracts Demand

Wrexham based contractor Read Construction Holdings Ltd are reporting a mini-boom in demand for their services for ‘minor contracts’. Classified by the company as works with a project value of £200k or under MD Richard Heaton believes there are a number of factors at play.

“There is still a significant demand for qualified contractors to do smaller works and we believe this is being fuelled by the fact that even on smaller jobs clients still have a requirement for compliance and smaller contractors who are not so rigorous can end up being a false economy.” said Richard Heaton. “Add to this that smaller works are often being undertaken in a live environment where there could be challenging access and egress and constructional details and the interface with the existing operation of the building is far greater. In these circumstances the discipline of a larger contractor is not just beneficial but necessary for the client to fully satisfy its customers and stakeholders.”

This mini-boom comes hard on the heels of the busiest period for tenders in the company’s history. In December 2009 Read had a total of 19 project tenders with a total value of £18m all closing that month. With their Estimating Department at full stretch Managing Director Richard Heaton hopes that this positive news may be an indication that industry forecasts predicting no real upturn for the construction sector until 2011, may be wide of the mark.

“There is no question that the construction sector is still struggling but to have this number of tenders across a variety of public and private sector projects demonstrates that clients are committing to new projects and that money is flowing through the economy.” Said Richard Heaton. “It’s very competitive out there and margins are being squeezed but we are very positive that at least now the projects are there to tender for.”

Reflecting the increase in work the company has recently recruited four new members of staff including professional estimators and also new trainee positions. In a highly competitive environment the company believes that its focus on continuous improvement, training and strong client relationships has been key to ensuring a place on the tender lists together with team approach that has seen every employee involved and contributing to moving forward during the worst period in the sector for decades.

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