News

FEBRUARY 2011

JB marks 21st anniversary with £10k charity pledge

2011 is a very special year for JB Brickwork, as it marks our 21st year in business, and we can reflect with pride on our achievements over the past two decades.

Our maxim has always been to provide our clients with the highest level of personal service, generating relationships built on trust, honesty and integrity. We look forward in the years ahead to continuing our support of clients with their brickwork and masonry requirements.

To mark our 21st year in business, we have set ourselves the goal of fundraising £10,000 for our nominated charities.
Our chosen charities are The Royal Hospital for Sick Children in Glasgow and The Lighthouse Club - the construction industry charity. We also intend to identify a local East Kilbride children’s sports organisation that would benefit from our support.

Company founder Jim Brannan said: We hope that by making this fundraising commitment we are able to help in some small way to assist these organisations with their very worthwhile work.”

Turnover to hit £7million

JB Brickwork is looking forward with optimism to a healthy workload for 2011/2012.
We have a current order book of £4.1million and, following discussions with clients regarding current tender opportunities, a turnover for 2011/2012 of around £7million is projected.

Management changes to strengthen effective delivery of all our services

At the JB Brickwork Group, we regularly review our business operations in order to ensure that the service that we offer our clients is relevant to their requirements in the marketplace. We recently carried out a review of our internal management structure, and are pleased to announce a number of significant changes to our organisational set-up that we believe will equip us well for the next phase in the development of the JB Brickwork Group.
With effect from the 1st of January 2011, Jim Brannan moved from his position as Joint Managing Director to a senior advisory role within the organisation. This will allow Jim to focus on using his considerable business experience and technical knowledge in assisting our clients achieve their goals and objectives.

His fellow Joint Managing Director Paul Moultrie has now been appointed Chairman of the JB Brickwork Group. By taking on the Chairman’s role, Paul will be able to focus on developing and strengthening new and existing key client relationships, as well as securing future business development opportunities for the JB Brickwork Group.
Paul said: “These changes to the management structure will strengthen our ability to deliver a range of services efficiently and effectively and I look forward to the challenges ahead, in particular, my involvement with the growth of our new company, JB Stonework Ltd, which is an exciting expansion of our core service to clients.
As a result of the development of these new positions, we are delighted to announce that Gordon Thomson has been appointed to the position of Managing Director of JB Brickwork (LPM) Ltd.

As many of our clients will know, Gordon has been Construction Director with the company for the past six years and has previous extensive experience across the construction industry. He been instrumental in ensuring that a wide range of projects have been delivered on-site to our clients’ satisfaction.

Gordon said: “I am looking forward to the opportunity to develop and enhance JB Brickwork’s reputation and will be working tirelessly with the rest of the JB Group team to cement our position as a leading brickwork contractor in the Scottish marketplace.

Launch of JB Stonework Ltd

We are delighted to announce the formal launch of JB Stonework Ltd as a separate company, as of the 1st March 2011.

As some of our clients may know, we have been successfully operating our stonework division under the JB Brickwork (LPM) Ltd banner for some time, having previously acquired an established stonework contractor.
It has always been our intention, however, to give the stonework division its own identity, and to allow it to establish its own brand in the marketplace.

We have several stonework projects going forward for 2011 to 2012, with a secured turnover for the new company already in excess of £500,000. Additionally, we are in advanced discussions with several major contracting and private clients relating to a number of prestigious projects that are anticipated to commence on-site during spring and summer of 2011.

We believe that this exciting development will allow us to bring this stonework expertise in-house so complementing our existing brick and blockwork trades. The seamless integration of the respective skill sets allows our clients to benefit from compacted programme durations and preliminary cost reductions, through the placement of both trades with our organisation.

We would like to thank our clients for their support in the development of our stonemasonry service, and look forward to working closely with our new and existing clients and in assisting them with their stonework requirements in the future.

APRIL 2010

Why we believe in Co2mmit to Save

Going green doesn’t just make environmental sense, it makes good business sense.
That’s why JB Brickwork is launching its “Co2mmit to Save” carbon reduction campaign.

We are currently recruiting our environmental champions who will lead the drive to save and recycle within our offices.
Our champions will lead the way and encourage others in a variety of measures designed to save money and reduce our carbon footprint.

Here are just some of the ways that we will be encouraging staff and our workforce to “Co2mmit to Save”.

1. Don’t waste. Turn off the lights, computers and office machinery while not in use. Don’t let water taps run unnecessarily and use less water when boiling kettles.

2. Recycle. Our office champions will use a blue bag system to recycle all plastics, metals and paper which will be delivered to their local recycling centre.

3. Go eco friendly. We are encouraging staff to buy “green” cleaning products for use in the office and at home. Most cleaning products are toxic to humans and animals and not good for the environment.

4. Drive less. Where practical, staff will be encouraged to car share and either walk or cycle to work.

5. Buy products that are made from recycled items. We are examining a range of products made from recycled materials for possible use within our offices. The various materials used for recycling include aluminium, plastic soda bottles, reclaimed cotton, reclaimed wood, rubber and paper.

There are actually many ways to go green and make our planet less toxic. If every person made a conscious effort to do just one thing to go green, the impact would be huge.

APRIL 2009

Creating apprenticeships for the Glasgow Games 2014

Scotland’s leading bricklaying company, the JB Brickwork Group, has pledged its support for a scheme to create hundreds of construction apprenticeships in the run-up to Glasgow’s hosting of the 2014 Commonwealth Games.

Glasgow City Council leader Councillor Steven Purcell announced the initiative - linked to the completion of infrastructure and arenas ahead of the Games - to offer an apprenticeship to every suitably qualified Glasgow school leaver in 2009.

A delegation from the council has already made a fact-finding visit to the JB Brickwork Group’s HQ in Stevenston in Ayrshire, home to the only privately-funded bricklaying apprenticeship academy in Scotland.

Councillor Steven Purcell, Leader of Glasgow City Council, said: “JB Brickwork is an excellent example of a company which has recognised the need to invest in the future and, in particular, in the skills of our young people.

“I am delighted that the directors have shown such a strong commitment to modern apprenticeships.

"While many of the construction apprenticeships in the council's initiative will be offered though City Building (Glasgow) LLP, our arm's-length construction company, we are delighted that a firm like JB Brickwork, with its solid reputation and knowledge in this specialist sector, has offered its support.

“I hope more businesses will also see the benefits of offering apprenticeships and training. Investing in the skills of our young people is one of the things that will protect us for the future.

"One of the biggest mistakes made in Glasgow in the past was to fail to invest in training young people during difficult times. That’s not a mistake I’m prepared to allow us to make again."

JB Brickwork directors Jim Brannan and Paul Moultrie told the delegation that they are willing to offer specialist advice on the setting up of any new bricklaying apprenticeship centres and where appropriate the company would also take on as many new apprentices as possible.

Jim said: “As a company we are currently investing £150,000 a year on apprentice training and I feel this is a clear demonstration of our commitment to creating jobs within the construction industry. We are in the business of providing quality training and secure employment for our young apprentices, to give them a skill for life and make a positive contribution to the community.

“The construction work associated with the Commonwealth Games will provide many companies with the opportunity to create new jobs and develop the talents and skills of our young people. We are delighted to have been asked to support this initiative.”

Paul added: “This scheme offers some exciting possibilities for the development of bricklaying apprenticeships in the Glasgow area. For instance, we would love to see a scheme where our apprentices actually build a new academy – in brick, of course! All we would need is a piece of land.”

The council is investing £2m into the scheme this year, some of which will go towards a financial incentive for small businesses that can demonstrate their commitment to creating additional apprenticeship opportunities. This money is on top of a contribution from Skills Development Scotland.

PICTURE SHOWS:
JB Brickwork directors Jim Brannan (left) and Paul Moultrie (right) welcome Shona Honeyman and Caroline Rickard from Glasgow City Council's Commonwealth Apprenticeship Initiative to the bricklaying academy.