GROWING THROUGH REPUTATION

Tell us about yourself and how you got into the sector.

I’m an electrician by trade and I started out as an apprentice electrician with the East Midlands Electricity Board. Once I’d finished my apprenticeship, I went on to become an approved electrician, and the opportunities with the electricity board at that time were vast. I had the opportunity to diversify and start to get more into design and project delivery, and work in different industries as well. I then spent several years delivering projects including data communications, electrical automation and networking. It was then I developed a passion for project management. I joined BGEN 20 years ago and I feel as though I’ve definitely earned my stripes now –working my way up from project manager, to business unit MD, and finally, through to CEO in September 2021.

For those who may not know, can you give us an overview of the work that BGEN does?

BGEN started off as an electrical contracting business based in Warrington 105 years ago. The company has grown to turning over £191 million in 2022, with a workforce of 1,300 employees. The electrical contracting business was built up over many decades and has diversified as the organisation has grown. Now BGEN is not just an electrical contracting business, we have a mechanical arm which works on big M&E industrialised projects. We’ve also diversified into different fields and now describe ourselves as a multi-disciplined engineering solutions business and, in terms of engineering solutions, we are approaching being one of the largest privately owned electrical mechanical contracting businesses in the UK.

We work in industrialised and specialist sectors and we do a lot in the water, gas, electrical, power and petrochemical services sectors. BGEN also has specialist divisions (food, nuclear and pharma) and an international business which is based in Africa. There are also three manufacturing facilities within the business.

In regard to growing the business, one thing I will say is that that we are not a sales-driven organisation – we grow through reputation and through repeat business with existing clients.

Tell us about your current role – what are you responsible for and what does the normal working day consist of?

Ultimately, I am responsible for everything within BGEN – I report to the shareholders and am responsible for the performance of the whole business, whether that’s safety, financial, quality or environmental. When I took on the job as CEO we rebranded the company. We changed the name, but we didn’t change the bread and butter of what we’re doing – we were at the point where we had grown as an organisation and we were working to offer much broader services. Another thing I am working on is our next three year strategy and what’s required to be more sustainable and to attract more diversity into the into the industry. We are looking at another busy year this year and we have a lot of work in the form of major contracts and clients. With regards to a typical day, as CEO I have certain repeating events that go on with my management team, and I make sure that I am touching base with as many staff members as I can, making sure the business is functioning well. I do like to engage with clients and all of our new starters as well.

What are the best things about your role? What are the most challenging?

The most rewarding thing about my role is the people. Without doubt we are a people organisation with a family culture and that is very evident within the company. I have been with BGEN for 20 years, and every day is different. Because we operate across multiple sectors, every day is a school day. So that’s really interesting for me because I am inquisitive. I do find that working on different projects, in different sectors, with different clients and different people all the time, keeps it fresh.

We also have challenges as well –because we deliver difficult projects, we are always uncovering all kinds of challenging environments, but this is what we specialise in. Besides COVID-19, the war in Ukraine, and the current economic climate and uncertainty, it’s now access to the right products and being able to have materials readily available at the right price to deliver to our clients – that’s a challenge. We have spent a considerable amount of time with our supply chain management to make sure that we are still delivering. Inflation is having an impact, but we are fortunate to be in a position to plan work quite far ahead, so when it comes to procuring and securing materials at the right price, we haven’t necessarily been hit too hard yet. We are very passionate about making sure that our workforce is looked after and engaged, and we’re also making sure that we are considering the carbon content of what we deliver and our own impact on the planet.

BGEN’s headquarters have officially become net zero – can you tell us more about that?

We have decarbonised our head office, which is fantastic for us as an organisation, and is part of our carbon reduction plan which we set out in 2019. We set out a strategy to reduce our carbon footprint by 25% by 2025, which is part of our roadmap to being net zero by 2035. The first starting point around our decarbonisation is looking at our operational carbon – our own buildings and operations – and ensuring our own are people fully on board with that strategy. Decarbonising our head office is only part of that that journey, but it does give us the ability to showcase what we can do as an organisation. We can test the technologies that are available and we can see how affordable they are as well, which means that we can use our head office as an in-house case study to show potential clients what we can do. We are now two years into the target of 25% and we have achieved 19% already, so we are well ahead of our curve. However, there is still a long way to go.

What work is BGEN doing with regards to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DE&I) and supporting the mental health of its employees?

This is something that I’m really passionate about. We’ve been doing a lot of work with regards to the skills shortage by trying to attract more people into the industry –especially women. At BGEN, we asked the women in the business to create a Women’s Forum – a safe space to talk about the issues that are stopping women going into engineering and they were asked to make recommendations to the management.

They came forward with a maternity and adoption package of 29 weeks full pay plus a further 10 weeks statutory pay which we have implemented, and I think I can credibly say is one of the best in the industry. We are trying to change the narrative and learn from those who have experienced it. We do a lot around mental wellbeing and have put 44 people through Mental Health First Aid at a site level, and I’m also a mental health first aider. We have a lot of other incentives going on and we have a zero harm culture, when it comes to health, safety and wellbeing.

How has COVID-19 affected the industry and are there any positives to come out of the pandemic?

As an organisation, I would suggest that we’ve come out of it fairly unscathed, because we spent a lot of time inward looking, rebranding and growing the business. We have won some big awards coming out of the COVID-19 pandemic and it has opened up some opportunities for us as well. Industry wise, COVID-19 contributed heavily to the skills shortage, where many people re-thought about what they wanted to do with their lives, which resulted in a change of career. COVID-19 also brought the issue of mental health to the fore – coming out of it we see now that people do need an arm around them and they do need to socialise. As great as Teams is, it removes that ability to be together and, especially for our apprentices and our trainees, it is much better to have a mentor sitting next to them to show them what to do. So, as an industry, I do think we are more distanced.

Aside from COVID-19, what have been the biggest challenges across the industry in recent times?

Apart from the Ukraine situation and the current economic climate, the ongoing shortage of materials is without doubt one of the biggest challenges, along with the skills shortage. The global carbon situation is also a challenge for most organisations, and we have to find innovative ways of being more efficient and competitive; increase value; do the right thing consistently; ensure high quality output; and keep people safe – these are all real challenges. While we need to invest more in our digitisation space to be more efficient, we also have to remember our core services and values.

What’s next for you and for BGEN?

More of the same! Sustainability is huge for us. Whilst it offers lots of opportunities, it also means we have to invest in our business and our people to make sure we’re doing the right thing for our clients and for the planet as well. It is a huge focus for the organisation going forward. This month we are launching a new sustainability offering, helping clients on their own net zero journeys. For me, personally, it’s a more of the same thing. My job comes with a huge amount of responsibility, but BGEN is a fantastic organisation and I enjoy what I do, so I’m going to continue to do it as long as I’m adding value and making a difference.

What do you think are the most exciting products or technologies coming to the market?

I think comes back to digitisation – that analytical element of instrumentation, the data that those instruments provide and the data we get off sites, even coming down to design tools. We do a lot with 3D scanning, which means we don’t have to send people out to site anymore to get information – we can actually build it into a 3D model. Another area to consider is top level cyber security and being able to remotely monitor the condition of certain assets. In terms of digitisation, I think it’s really exciting to keep abreast of the technology and make sure that we are introducing it to our clients as well.

What are your interests away from work?

Whilst I go to the gym and all of the usual things to keep healthy, my main focus for me is family. I’ve recently moved to Cheshire on the Welsh border and I’m really enjoying having adventures and finding new places with my family.

BGEN, b-gen.co.uk