Measuring up for success

It is often said that good things come in small packages and this is certainly the philosophy at Manchester & Cheshire Construction – a small company with an impressive portfolio and big plans

Founded in 1971 by joiners John Purcell and Charles Lowe the company began doing small one-off ventures. As its workload grew its focus moved to larger and larger projects and nowadays it covers sectors including education, social housing, industrial, commercial and civil engineering, carrying out
anything from structural alterations and adaptations to internal and external refurbishments throughout the North West.

Its work in the social housing sector concentrates on refurbishment rather than new build as business development manager Chris Purcell explains: “There isn’t much that can go wrong with new build once the foundations are in but with refurbishment there is a bit more risk involved because you don’t know what you are going to face, so fewer companies concentrate on it.

“We concentrate on internal and external refurbishments including kitchen and bathroom renewals, void repair works, window, door and replacements, re-roofing schemes, brickwork cleaning, re-pointing, garden walls, fencing and environmental improvement schemes.” It’s a policy that is clearly working as 2007-2008 saw the company achieve its record turnover, and despite the recession they are on course to match this performance in 2008-2009.

While being small brings benefits such as the personal touch and hands on management the company has often been overlooked for large-scale framework agreements because of its size. But its big break came this year when Salford-based City West Housing Trust appointed Manchester and Cheshire Construction onto its new contractor and materials supply frameworks, which will see an investment of £235 million over five years.

“It is a massive thing for us,” says Purcell. “We put everything into the submission to make sure we got onto it and we are really keen.” He is hoping that as well as helping to increase the company’s turnover its inclusion will lead to new opportunities.

“If you aren’t on a framework you don’t have any experience to show others but without experience you can’t get on a framework so it is a bit of a chicken and egg thing,” he explains. “But we are hoping that this will be a real springboard for us.”

With 27 contractors on the framework, the competition for work will be stiff but Purcell is confident that its direct labour force and longserving staff will give it the edge.

“We have an average length of service of 10 years and clients like seeing the same faces,” says Purcell. We did a kitchen and bathroom scheme for Irwell Valley Housing Association and when we returned three years later to do more work we had exactly the same team in place so all of the knowledge and experience that we had learnt the first time round was still there and the client was delighted to be dealing with the same people.”

There are many benefits to direct labour, says Purcell including health and safety, training and being able to choose the right operative for the right job, as he explains: “With agency workers you are told that they have got all the health and safety training in place but you don’t know for certain, whereas we have got training records for every one of our operatives and know exactly what courses they have been on, giving us real control of health and safety and quality.

“Also it is important when working in people’s homes that you send trustworthy people who can do the job properly. We try to make sure employees work with us for at least a year before sending them out on a social housing project but with agency staff you don’t know who you are getting.

“And we know the right people for the job. For example you can have two plasterers who each have their own skills, so a job that is particularly technical with intricate detail might suit one of them, while a job that requires building up relationships with tenants might better suit the other.”

Staff training is a priority at Manchester and Cheshire, especially where health and safety is concerned and the company is committed to helping its employees to develop.

“The founders of the company were from a trade background and were disillusioned with the approach of many of the major contractors in those days, who used to lay off their staff at the end of every job or just before Christmas to avoid paying holiday pay,” says Purcell. “When they set the company up, they were determined to do things differently and employed a direct labour force from day one. They kept people employed even when there was a downturn in workload and we still abide by their values to this day.

“The average length of service pretty much sums up our approach,” says Purcell. “We invest in our people and get the payback from it. Each employee has an individual training plan and we have staff reviews every six months.

“We have got a real track record of ensuring that people are trained and developing within the company and have got many success stories. I worked on site when I was younger, as did three of the directors and seven out of the 10 site agents were previously labourers or tradesman.”

Also because of its size company directors are actively involved on the shop floor, offering clients a personal touch and the opportunity to deal directly with someone who can make decisions.

“We are a family company and all of the people our clients are dealing with have got the company’s best interests at heart, they are not just doing a job, they really want to make the company a success and that gives us the edge,” explains Purcell.

But of course it is not just about keeping clients happy, tenant satisfaction is important too, as Purcell explains: “We have continually improved our customer care performance and learnt a great deal from working with different housing associations, particularly Irwell Valley Housing Association, which has got a really forward-thinking approach to dealing with tenants. We copied a lot of what they do, in terms of how we introduce ourselves and the notices we send out.

“We appreciate the stress that is caused when people have builders in their homes and realised very early on the importance of effective communication. Our customers know exactly what work is happening or due to happen on their property and as long as you keep residents informed they
are happy.

“We often take things we’ve learnt with one housing association onto another, and our clients are pleasantly surprised that it is the building contractor that is taking the lead with soft issues.”

For example the company completed a 28- week scheme in Harpurhey for Manchester City Council, which involved replacing every roof on the estate and fitting solar panels. Residents remained in their homes throughout the works so communication was key.

“We liaised with residents from the beginning, telling them exactly what would be happening and held a monthly forum so they could air their views and any grievances,” says Purcell. “We were working in people’s loft spaces during winter so we had to make sure that everything was adequately covered and there were no leaks. Also the roofs were stripped resulting in significant heat loss so we provided residents with temporary heaters to keep them warm for the few days that the roof was uncovered.”

The company is currently carrying out a facelift scheme for Willow Park Housing Trust, in Wythenshawe, involving brickwork cleaning and repointing properties and its tenant liaison skills have once again proved a huge hit. “They are delighted with us and we are hoping to negotiate more work in the future,” says Purcell.

Its background in concrete repairs makes it well placed to work on multi-storey buildings, which tend to have concrete frames. A major scheme involved structural repairs, to Thorn Court, a 22-storey tower block in Salford.

“As all of our management staff are from a construction background and we have a great deal of experience to offer, we actively seek out difficult or problematic projects as we know other contractors will be put off,” says Purcell. “This scheme was a perfect example.”

The year-long project centred around installing support for the failing concrete beams between each floor and repairs to the concrete frame and brickwork, as well as replacing over 600 windows.

Again residents remained in their homes throughout and regular open forums were held, while mast climbers were used by the operatives to cause the least possible disruption to residents. As Purcell explains: “If we had used scaffolding the building would have been in darkness for the duration of the project so the work was done off mast climbers fixed onto a rail that slides up and down the building.”

Its social housing experience is plainly extensive but the company has a number of blue-chip clients outside the social housing arena including The University of Manchester, the Health and Safety Executive, Bruntwood, the Royal Mail and Peel Holdings.

And its housing expertise has helped it to win work in other sectors including a window and door replacement contract with Manchester Airport to install sound-proof glazing in the areas most affected by aircraft noise.

Manchester and Cheshire Construction was appointed as the sole contractor following a rigorous selection procedure and customer service performance on previous housing schemes was cited as an integral factor in its success.

Looking to the future this ever adaptable company is hoping to grow its capacity to a £10 million turnover in five years time but for Purcell it is important that the company doesn’t expand too much. “When you get above £10million you start to lose that personal touch, which is our niche,” he says. “We have got no delusions of becoming a large national contractor, we like the size and feel of the company and most importantly the clients like it. We don’t want to lose that by overstretching ourselves just for the sake of growing bigger.”