Millcroft’s Managing Director Billy Jones and Scaffolding Director Sam Jones reflect on Millcroft's accomplishments in 2023 and discuss what's in store for the company and scaffolding industry in 2024.
As one of the South East's leading specialist access solutions providers, Millcroft has spent more than 50 years building more than just world-class scaffolding structures. Under the respected leadership of brothers Billy and Sam, expertise, innovation and, most importantly, its people, are central to Millcroft's continued success.
Investing in top talent to meet growing demand
The past year saw Millcroft's design and commercial teams significantly expand to meet growing demand, notably for increased work on major infrastructure projects such as HS2.
"We made some very strategic hires this year," comments Billy. "We have a new full-time engineer based at our HS2 site, have grown our surveying team, and bolstered our design expertise with three new members. We've also taken on a Senior QS to support Craig Bewick our Head of Commercial and allow him to fulfil his head of department role.”
“We have some exciting times ahead on the construction services side of our business. We’re looking at some significant projects outside of our normal contracts of industrial maintenance so it’s important to have the right people in place when we secure the work.”
Sam adds, “It’s all about broadening our capabilities, but also maintaining the company’s family feel.”
Navigating recruitment and skills challenges in the industry
Although Millcroft has successfully recruited this year it has not been without its challenges. The scaffolding and construction industry as a whole is still facing recruitment and skills gaps. Billy and Sam have expressed genuine concern about what they see is the declining quality of young talent entering the workforce today.
Billy remarks, “I’m becoming increasingly concerned about the commitment of young candidates coming through. I’m sure my views will be incendiary, but there appears to be a lack of work ethic and key principles like respect for managers and supervisors.”
Sam agrees, adding, “There’s seems to be sense of entitlement when it comes to salaries and advancement. In our experience of recruitment over the past few years, many young people lack the grit and patience to put their heads down, work hard and prove themselves. Members of our team have spent years honing their skills, working diligently with enthusiasm and dedication and are accustomed to early starts on site and in the office; that’s what’s required in scaffolding.”
In terms of solutions to this, “It’s a two-way thing,” explains Billy. “We want the right people to stay with us, so we offer competitive salaries, incentive packages, and an exceptional working environment. We expect candidates to recognise these benefits and the opportunities they have here for personal development and career progression, in exchange for commitment to their work and loyalty to the company.”
Investing in sustainability, compliance and safety
Environmental sustainability and worker safety have always been paramount at Millcroft. The company has more than a decade of FORS Gold accreditation. This is the highest level of achievement and demonstrates Millcroft’s commitment to driver and vehicle safety.
“We continue to invest in our vehicles and upgrade our HGV fleet,” says Billy. “Recent additions have included a transition to hybrid and electric vehicles, a new Euro 6 flatbed truck and Transit Dropside and Connect vans. We'll shortly add two 7.5-tonne lorries and a Class 1 tractor to our compliant fleet. These will be serviceable for at least five years, giving us the edge on clean, green construction and motoring."
Billy also highlighted Millcroft’s success with awards. “We were awarded the ROSPA President’s Award for the second time this year and have also achieved 11 consecutive ROSPA Golds for our fleet and health and safety.”
This year Millcroft has continued with its rigorous external accreditations and assessments including ISO and Achilles UVDB as part of its assurance to maintaining high levels of health and safety, quality and environmental management.
Upgrading facilities to enhance employee experience
Enriching workplace culture and enhancing the overall employee experience has remained central to Millcroft’s ethos.
"This year we have invested heavily in the welfare facilities for our scaffolding guys based in the depot. ," explains Sam.
Yard Manager, Mick Williamson one of Millcroft's many stalwarts, has a smart new office with glass door, and the depot itself now boasts a new contemporary, industrial-style canteen with stone worktops. The bathroom facilities at the depot have also been completely refitted.
Poised for growth in an optimistic 2024 and beyond
Major wins such as a heritage restoration project and a robust pipeline in rail infrastructure, particularly, have Billy and Sam full of enthusiasm for the future.
“We have some exciting and complex opportunities as well as continued demand for our services in infrastructure,” states Billy. “We will also continue delivering interesting schemes like Whitechapel next year.”
Leveraging emerging technologies such as 4D modelling for enhanced tendering abilities is continuing to help unlock new opportunities moving forward. Ahmet Ulusoy, who joined the company in 2020 as part of the government Kickstart scheme, is doing impressive 4D modelling work. "He has some great skills such as creating a time-lapse video of a scaffolding system being constructed during the different stages of a project," enthuses Billy.
Sam describes a steady organic business growth strategy based on consistency: “It’s about maintaining control and avoiding issues that can arise from over-stretching ourselves.”
Billy agrees: “We always said that we don't want to be the biggest scaffolding company, we want to be the best. So we continue to strive for excellence in safety and delivery.”
Closing thoughts on 2023 and the year ahead
Summing up the past year, both Billy and Sam have nothing but praise for the team at Millcroft and are in no doubt about why the company continues to go from strength to strength.
"We're proud of everyone here," says Sam. "They put in a lot of shifts. It can be a stressful environment sometimes on and off site. But that's the nature of our work."
Billy concludes: “We want to thank everybody who works for us and look forward to continuing to build on the special thing we have as a team in 2024.”
