Skip to main content

Newsletter

A Message from our MD

We are about to enter another exciting development period for the business! Projects that were put on hold during the pandemic are now restarting, we are continuing to win new contracts and more student accommodation work is in the pipeline from our loyal Client, Crown Student Living. Most exciting of all is the possibility, or even the probability, that we may soon be involved in the largest, single project in our history. More on this in a future edition but our fingers remain crossed! There is also the probability of a significant contract win for Carter Sustainable Construction with Wates in the near future. It is also very pleasing to announce that Hurley Decarbonisation Solutions have helped South Wales Police secure grant funding for investigative work to their estate throughout South Wales.  HTIC are also securing more contracts from outside the business. This is the result of a sustained effort by James and Mark and is proving very worthwhile. A big thank you and well done to everyone involved.

At the other end of the project cycle I am pleased to confirm that Cardiff University have taken ownership of their flagship Centre For Student Life building in Park Place. Congratulations go to Ryan, Steve and all concerned. (If you are in the vicinity I would recommend a diversion to see this very impressive, landmark building). There have been numerous other contracts started and completed which also deserve our congratulations and thanks to all involved.

Staff changes are an inevitable fact of business life. We prefer that people stay with us but respect that individuals need to follow their destiny as they see fit. We have lost a few and gained a few. Goodbye to those leaving us and welcome to those who are joining us. Also, I wish Ian and his family well in their move to Exeter.

We have introduced a new accounting system, Coins, from the beginning of September. This will involve everyone in the business in time and will be a great benefit to our financial management. I appreciate your support in the adoption of new systems and procedures and wish to extend my thanks to Andrea for her diligence in bringing this project to a successful fruition.

Finally, due to our ongoing success it has been necessary to find additional offices in Bridgend and new offices in Bristol. Both have been sourced and those in Bridgend will be occupied early in October with Bristol following soon after. My thanks go to Neil Joseph for his expertise in ensuring we have the internet services we need to ensure a seamless transition into the new offices as the construction world does not stop.

Paul Barham Wins Operative of the Month

Paul’s consistently high standards were recognised by main contractor Bouygues last month when he was awarded the ‘Operative of the Month Award’ at Pencoedtre High School. The award is given to those that excel in every aspect of health and safety and Paul has always maintained a professional approach throughout his career. He is a role model to the apprentices and younger generations coming through the business and his ability to effectively mentor trainees really stands out.

 

Thank you and congratulations, Paul!

A Thank You from Swansea Bay University Health Board

Swansea Bay University Health Board passed on their sincere thanks for our quick response during a recent steam leak at Morriston Hospital, Swansea. A member of their estates department took the time to specifically express his gratitude, as the operatives were required to mobilise extremely quickly, work in demanding conditions that were hot and cramped in order to prevent the situation escalating and causing major disruption to the hospital’s operations.

Dealing with emergency situations in a responsive and professional manner plays a major role in cementing long lasting client relationships and we want to thank the employees involved. Thank you to Conway Jones, Darren Paul, Mike Smitheram and Lloyd Paul.

I would like to pass on my personal thanks to you for the way you responded to our escalating steam leak in the Pathology lab last week, for organising both materials and labour at very short notice due to the steam service having already been isolated. Can you also pass on my thanks to all three of your staff who worked hard in demanding conditions, confined space and hot temperatures, and working through until the job was completed on Friday evening. Thank you!
Jason Oliver
Swansea Bay UHB Estates Officer

Record Number of New Apprentice Starts for F P Hurley

We are delighted to announce that this week has seen a record number of F P Hurley apprentices enrolled on the Building Services Installer (Heating and Ventilation) apprenticeship with BESA Academy. A total of 8 apprentices were enrolled and completed their induction at Cardiff & Vale College where they met their fellow apprentices, apprenticeship partners from BESA and college tutors. This is a record number of new apprentice starts for the company, taking the overall number of apprentices enrolled in our Building Services (Heating and ventilation) apprenticeship to 24.

The 8 apprentices have spent the past year working on site with us, gaining a greater insight into the industry and getting a feel for the job.

  • Good luck to the class of 2021 – Liam Gully, Cameron Bryant, Louis Brown, Bleddyn Jones, Harley Williams, Keegan Thomas, Jordan Budd and Daniel Matthews. We wish them every success on their apprenticeship journey with us.

We are also excited to announce our apprenticeship recruitment for 2022 is now complete. We will be welcoming 4 new apprentices next month, who will spend the next year gaining valuable work experience on site before commencing their apprenticeship programme with BESA Academy in September 2022.

F P Hurley Welcomes Lewis Griffiths

This month we welcome Lewis Griffiths as Assistant Quantity Surveyor based at our Bridgend office. Lewis graduated with a degree in Quantity Surveying and Commercial Management at the University of South Wales in 2019 and has worked as an Assistant Quantity Surveyor for the past two years before joining the company earlier this month. Lewis was drawn to the quantity surveying profession through his love of mathematics and financial management and prides himself on being an effective communicator with good negotiating skills. Lewis will work closely with other members of the quantity surveying team to further develop his skills and knowledge.

 

Outside of work, Lewis devotes his time to his love of sports. He is a keen supporter of both Liverpool F.C. and the Ospreys and also enjoys spending time outdoors with his family.

 

Please join us in wishing Lewis every success in his new role and we look forward to supporting him with all his future aspirations.

Steve John Appointed as Project Manager

This month we also welcome Steve John who has re-joined the company as a Project Manager. Steve has enjoyed a successful career in the building services industry and has spent the last two years working as a Mechanical Project Manager for Mitie where he gained experience of delivering projects in the education, healthcare and leisure sectors.

 

Steve comments: “I’m delighted to be re-joining F P Hurley, it’s a company with a fantastic heritage and excellent reputation. I’m looking forward to an exciting future and supporting the company in it’s continued growth and expansion”.

 

When not in work, Steve can be found coaching the Tondu U9s Rugby Club or enjoying a round of golf. He also loves to spend time with his young family in and around their favourite destination of West Wales.

Laptop Donation for Afon Taf High School and Ysgol Maesteg

F P Hurley recently helped ConnectED Cymru, an organisation which strives to ensure that every child has equal opportunity to succeed, to donate much needed IT equipment to South Wales school children.

ConnectED Cymru is a network of teachers who work in schools with a high level of deprivation, carrying out research and supporting fellow teachers to bridge the gap in educational inequality. The COVID-19 pandemic has had a devastating impact on the attainment gap between privileged and disadvantaged children during the past year. Over the course of the pandemic, some children have experienced limited access to digital devices leaving behind a digital divide and skills gap. By donating suitable devices, such as Chromebooks, ConnectED Cymru is helping to embed equality in education across South Wales.

F P Hurley donated 10 new Chromebooks to ConnectED Cymru which were equally distributed to Maesteg and Afon Taf High School in Merthyr Tydfil this month. Having delivered the mechanical services to both these schools during construction, this was one way which we could help to further support them.

 

 

Annual Golf Day was a Swinging Success

F P Hurley’s annual Golf Day in July was enjoyed by many at the Royal Porthcawl Golf Club. Now in its 7th year, the golf day is an informal event for us to thank our customers for their loyalty and get to know them better away from the world of work.

16 keen golfers, making up 4 teams, gathered for the afternoon event. Set along the stunning Welsh coastline, the Royal Porthcawl Golf Club proved to be a wonderful venue for the teams to enjoy 18 holes of golf. The sun shone all afternoon as the golfers made their way around the top quality course, taking in the breathtaking coastal views whilst celebrating the spirit of sportsmanship.

Another Successful Cricket Trip

Following the easing of COVID-19 restrictions, members of F P Hurley enjoyed a weekend trip to Worcester in early September 2021. The trip, which has been an annual tradition for the company for several decades, aims to get employees together to socialise, play a game of cricket or a round of golf and take part in some friendly competition. 34 employees attended the weekend getaway, which provided an opportunity for everyone to de-stress and reflect on the events of the past 18 months.

A special mention goes to Alan Smith who won ‘player of the match’ for his outstanding performance on the cricket field, and also to Ian Rees who won the golf.

Adrian Hurley, Managing Director, comments:

Our annual cricket trip provides a fantastic opportunity to create great memories for our staff, build morale and encourage teamwork. It gives us something to look forward to each year and continues to be as popular today as it was 40 years ago when we first started the tradition.

Contract Wins

The order book remains strong and we’re delighted to say that over £1.8 million worth of new work was won in the period of July to September 2021. The healthcare sector has proved dominant in this period with orders to the value of £400,000 from both Swansea Bay University Health Board and Cardiff & Vale University Health Board for projects at Singleton Hospital and University Hospital Llandough respectively. Also in the public sector we’ve had several contract wins in the education sector, from valued clients including Rhondda Cynon Taf County Borough Council, Carmarthenshire County Council, City and County of Swansea Council, Futures for Somerset, Harris Bros & Collard and QUBE Construction.

In the private sector, we’re continuing our work at the BTG pharmaceutical facility in Llandysul after receiving orders for new work from Protherics UK.

 

 

Contract Completions

We’re pleased to say that, after a challenging 18 months, the Centre for Student Life project has successfully completed this month. The flagship building for Cardiff University will provide a wide range of services to support key elements of student life.

Congratulations to Ryan Shapcott for getting this complex and challenging project over the line. All teams involved are very proud of the end result, which is an impressive addition to Cardiff’s cityscape. Take a walk through the Centre for Student Life here.

 

Portsmouth Banner

Crown Student Living’s Upcoming Student Accommodation Developments

We are continuing to work closely with developer Crown Student Living in order to secure the contracts for student accommodation in Leicester and subsequently Bournemouth. The schemes would allow us to further enhance our strong track record of delivering student accommodation for Crown Student Living, with projects delivered in Bristol, Reading, Norwich, Cardiff, Portsmouth (shown left) and currently on site in Swansea.

Cardiff Royal Infirmary Project Reinstated

We are delighted to announce the Cardiff Royal Infirmary project has now been reinstated, after it faced delays and uncertainty due to the Coronavirus pandemic. F P Hurley were appointed by Willmott Dixon for the project in May 2021, which has a potential M&E value of circa £20 million for the company. The project will be delivered through several phases and is expected to take a minimum of five years, and possibly up to ten years to complete. Willmott Dixon are soon to restart planning meetings and Project Manager Ryan Shapcott will be leading this landmark project for the company. Read more about the project here.

All Electric

Works to install 18 new electric vehicle charging points at the Bridgend office are now complete. The charging points will help us adopt a greener fleet and save carbon emissions. F P Hurley has been gradually replacing its diesel and petrol cars with hybrid and electric cars, and our car fleet currently consists of 47% hybrid cars and 22% electric cars.

We want to thank Simon Williams, F P Hurley Electrical Design Engineer, for planning and organising all the necessary works in order to have the electric charge points installed.

Announcements

Adam Sansom Completes Four Year Apprenticeship

Congratulations to Adam Sansom who is qualifying from his four-year apprenticeship programme. Adam has successfully achieved the Level 3 NVQ Diploma in Heating and Ventilating Industrial and Commercial Installation and has been a exemplary student throughout the course. We wish Adam well with the next chapter of his career and look forward to heading into a successful future with him.

We Say Goodbye to Glen Hopson and Simon Biginelli

This month we sadly say goodbye to Project Manager Glen Hopson. Glen joined the company in early 2018 and his contribution to the company has been admirable. Most notably, his performance on the Spinal Rehabilitation project at Llandough Hospital which was a challenging and complex project. It has been a privilege working with Glen and his constant professionalism and can-do attitude will be sorely missed. Glen, we wish you all the best with your new venture. Last month, we also said goodbye to Quantity Surveyor Simon Biginelli, and his contributions to the company during his time with us were appreciated. Farewell both and good luck!

Happy Birthday to You!

Wishing all of you with September and October birthdays many happy returns. Happy birthday to Adam Bristow, Jordan Budd, Toby Griffin, Garry Jones, Rob Macpherson, Lloyd Paul, Sam Peake, Anthony Perry, Dave Perry, Owyn Poole, Daniel Raynel, Elliot Teall, Ronan Templeton, Cameron Thomas, Chloe Ager, Matthew Cook, Kevin Davison, Glen Hopson, Adrian Hurley, Andrea Kiernan, Steve Lewis, James Mayne, Rob Raven and Chris Wilbraham.

Celebrating Work Anniversary Milestones

Congratulations to Rhian Evans on achieving ten years of service next month. Your many years of service are a true testimony of your dedication to the company and we want to thank you for all your contributions.

Good Luck to Ian Lewis and Family

We want to wish Ian Lewis and his family the best of luck with their relocation to Exeter this month. Ian is moving down to Exeter to help build up the business in the region and to help build and maintain strong client relationships. Moving house can bring many challenges and stresses and we want to thank Ian and his family for embracing the move. We hope you settle into the new area quickly and wish you all an exciting future in Exeter.

Charitable Work and Donations

It is with regret that we announce the disbandment of the F P Hurley Charity and Social Value Committees and the company is currently re-thinking it’s charitable efforts. If you have any charitable requests, please forward them to Adrian Hurley for consideration.

 

Key Dates

5 October 2021

Additional Bridgend Office

The additional Bridgend office will open on the 4th October now that the set-up and preparations are almost complete. Selected staff will begin to transfer over to the new office over the coming weeks.

November-December 2021

Annual Health Surveillance

The annual health surveillance will be taking place towards the end of November and early December. All site operatives will be invited to attend an appointment and we will be working with Insight Health Screening to deliver this.

1-31 October 2021

Stoptober

This NHS campaign takes place every October and encourages people to stop smoking throughout the month. The goal is to stop smoking for 28 days, and research shows if you achieve this you’re five times more likely to quit for good. Use the NHS Stoptober webpage for more information and details on the Stoptober app.

25-29 October 2021

Virtual Work Experience

F P Hurley will be taking part in a Virtual Work Experience Programme run by Speakers for Schools. The scheme aims to engage young people with employers where they can learn more about the world of work. The young people attending remotely will be high school age and will have expressed an interest in the construction industry. If you want to find out more or think you might want to take part please email newsletter@fphurley.co.uk.