The Scottish Building Contract Committee (SBCC) has elected Alan Wilson, acting managing director of SELECT, the trade body for the electro-technical trade in Scotland, to be its Vice Chair. The election took place at SBCC’s AGM on the 7th of November. “It’s a great honour to our organisation, as well
Mace has appointed the new director of its recently rebranced fit-out business – Mace Interiors. Stewart Ward has been tasked with expanding the Mace Interiors business, building on a strong portfolio of clients and projects to deliver sustainable growth and support the wider Group’s ambitions over the next five years.
Welsh Slate, part of the Breedon Group and the UK’s leading manufacturer of natural slate, has grown its sales team with the appointment of a specification sales manager for the South Wales and South-West region. John Steadman brings more than 25 years of natural slate sales experience to the position
IDOM (through its local branch IDOM Merebrook Ltd) is investing further in the field of asbestos management in the United Kingdom with the appointment of industry specialist Steve Hurst to spearhead the consultancy’s further business development in this area. The IDOM asbestos team has extensive experience of contaminated ground investigation,
With the recent decision for Bouygues’ Head of France to lay down the foundations of the next generation of the company, with the planned appointment of two new, more youthful members of the family to the board, it would appear that the company continue its position as a family-led, family-run
Originally handling the development of Sika’s Serbia operations from Belgrade, Dragan Maksimović has now been appointed as the new General Manager for Sika’s UK base, no doubt hoping for him to bring the same levels of success to the UK as in Serbia. And setting him off to a running
The Scottish Building Contract Committee (SBCC) has elected Alan Wilson, acting managing director of SELECT, the trade body for the electro-technical trade in Scotland, to be its Vice Chair. The election took place at SBCC’s AGM on the 7th of November. “It’s a great honour to our organisation, as well as to our sister body, the Scottish Engineering Contractors Group, (SECG), to have been elected as Vice Chair of SBCC,” said Alan Wilson. Until now its office bearers have been drawn from the membership of the Royal Institute of Architects in Scotland (RIAS) and the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS). “We have worked closely for some years with SELECT and SECG and have a high regard for their professionalism and abilities. In our view, the election of Alan to be our new Vice Chair is a timely and appropriate development reflecting our due acknowledgement of his organisation,” commented Chair of the SBCC, Lisa Cattanach, a chartered surveyor who is also a director of Glasgow-based Contract Dispute Resolution. Lisa’s first official role as chair of the SBCC was to host a very successful annual conference which was held in the Merchants House in Glasgow on Wednesday the 14th of November. “We had an outstanding lineup of speakers, including Professor John Cole of Queen’s University, Belfast, who delivered a very thought provoking State of the Nation address, in which he focussed on the findings of two independent enquiries of industry-wide significance established to address major issues of building quality,” said Lisa about the conference. The SBCC, whose role is to provide definitive guidance on building contracts and construction law in Scotland, was founded in the 1960s. SELECT’s 1250-member companies account for around 90% of all electrical installation work carried out in Scotland. They have a collective turnover of around £1 billion and provide employment for 15,000 people.
Mace has appointed the new director of its recently rebranced fit-out business – Mace Interiors. Stewart Ward has been tasked with expanding the Mace Interiors business, building on a strong portfolio of clients and projects to deliver sustainable growth and support the wider Group’s ambitions over the next five years. In this new role, Stewart will report to Mace’s Managing Director, Ged Simmonds, who is responsible for Mace’s commercial and fit out construction business. “I’m excited to have been appointed to lead the next chapter of Mace’s journey in the fit-out sector. We’ve got a fantastic team in place here, with a huge range of expertise and a portfolio of fantastic clients and projects. I’m very proud to have the opportunity to take Mace Interiors from strength to strength over the next five years and beyond,” said Stewart. Mace Interiors, formerly named ‘Como’, is responsible for a wide range of industry-leading commercial fit-out projects across the UK. The business was renamed to better align with the company’s corporate brand and reflect closer association with Mace Group. “We have delivered some of the most exciting fit-out projects in the UK over the last ten years, and with our new brand and Stewart in charge I’m sure we will continue to build on that fantastic legacy. The next twelve months will mark a key phase of growth for Mace Interiors, and I look forward to working with Stewart and the rest of the team to deliver it,” added Mark Castle, Mace’s Deputy Chief Operating Officer. Mace Interiors offers an attentive personal service with exceptional quality products to the leisure industry. With over 25 years of experience, the company has built an excellent reputation supplying and refurbishing projects throughout South Wales and beyond.
Welsh Slate, part of the Breedon Group and the UK’s leading manufacturer of natural slate, has grown its sales team with the appointment of a specification sales manager for the South Wales and South-West region. John Steadman brings more than 25 years of natural slate sales experience to the position after periods in regional and national sales with both UK and European manufacturers, some of which also involved manufactured building products/tiles. John considers he has reached the pinnacle in natural slate specification with Welsh Slate which is headquartered at its main Penrhyn Quarry near Bangor in North Wales. “I have been in natural slate sales for a long time and it’s great to have joined Welsh Slate who produce the best natural slate in the world,” he said. “I don’t think many people could argue that it’s not top of the range material. So I feel very positive, especially joining the company under the new Breedon Group ownership.” An avid Arsenal supporter and a six-times grandfather, John also joins the Welsh Slate sales team following the appointment earlier this year of former operations director Mark Hodgkinson as managing director.
IDOM (through its local branch IDOM Merebrook Ltd) is investing further in the field of asbestos management in the United Kingdom with the appointment of industry specialist Steve Hurst to spearhead the consultancy’s further business development in this area. The IDOM asbestos team has extensive experience of contaminated ground investigation, management and detailed knowledge of handling asbestos in buildings. The team offers a wide range of services including risk assessments, surveys, clearance, remediation and training. “This is a strategic appointment for us. Steve is a leading authority in the field of asbestos. We have been working within this sector for many years and believe it has real potential for further growth and is therefore an area we are keen to develop,” said IDOM’s Chief Operation Officer, Nigel Huish. “Managing asbestos projects is an incredibly complex process. We offer our clients a pragmatic approach to ensuring compliance, so Steve’s skillset in providing clients with workable, economically efficient solutions will be a valuable asset to the business,” he added. Steve brings a wealth of specialist expertise to the role, with over 30 years’ experience in environmental sector, having held senior positions in both business development and strategic operational leadership. He specialises in contract and client management, project management, training and quality delivery, strategic innovation, liability assessment, due diligence and decommissioning advice. “I have always held IDOM in very high esteem and watched them develop and grow as a global engineering powerhouse, whilst successfully retaining their high standards and exceptional levels of customer care. Needless to say, I jumped at the opportunity of becoming part of their success story and expanding their asbestos management capabilities – it is an exciting time to join the business and I very much look forward to the challenges this role brings,” commented Steve on his appointment.
With the recent decision for Bouygues’ Head of France to lay down the foundations of the next generation of the company, with the planned appointment of two new, more youthful members of the family to the board, it would appear that the company continue its position as a family-led, family-run and family-focused organisation. The proposal, to come from Martin Bouygues, the man behind the Bouygues name since 1989, will incorporate the appointment of his son, Edward and nephew, Cyril to the board after the close of an upcoming shareholder meeting. With the approval of the appointment this would see the board expand in size from fourteen to sixteen members which would help to rebalance the family to employer representative ratio; in total, this would split the board into four sets of family members and four of employee representatives. In total, the company’s workforce presently holds a 21.4% stake in Bouygues, with 28.6% of the voting rights also. On the other hand, SCDM, the family holding under the Bouygues name presently holds a 20.4% stake and approximately 27.9% of the voting rights.. And not only will the change see some movement in the balancing of the board, but it is also to see an increased amount of responsibility placed on the new members and prepare them for his eventual retirement. The plans also come at the same time as the company, which also holds ownership France’s TF1, the largest private broadcaster in France, is also looking to sell its telecoms division to Orange, reshaping the very landscape of the French landscape. Nodding to this, Martin Bouygues commented on the discussion looking to take a number of weeks, though there is also no guarantee of the deal having a successful outcome as of yet. Additionally, he commented that the deal would need for him to confirm a 10% stake in Orange for Bouygues, if it is to go ahead.
Originally handling the development of Sika’s Serbia operations from Belgrade, Dragan Maksimović has now been appointed as the new General Manager for Sika’s UK base, no doubt hoping for him to bring the same levels of success to the UK as in Serbia. And setting him off to a running start, it has already been confirmed that Sika has presented Dragan Maksimović with a target of improving sales by 6% in the first year, whilst simultaneously also maintaining profits. He will replacing former General Manager Ivo Schaedler, who has since been promoted to Area Manager Europe South. Key areas of focus for Dragan Maksimović’s work will look to the enhancement of the company’s existing specifier network, as well as improving upon the relations maintained between the organisation’s key distributors. This, of course, ties in the company’s overarching goal to consistently secure more and more major contracts and will support the company’s growth plans through supply chain support. Firm in the belief that teamwork and the people behind the brand are the way forward for Sika, Dragan Maksimović is expected to bring a very relationship-centric approach to the organisation, both internally and externally, to improve collaboration and working partnerships. He added: “Sika UK is a strong company and I am looking forward to the challenge of growing the brand in the UK.”
