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Contractors’ Corner


O


ver 93% of engineering services businesses say they are ‘concerned or very


concerned’ about the impact of coronavirus on their business over the next six months, according to initial responses to a major new ECA/BESA/ SELECT engineering services survey. Over 60% of respondents are ‘very


concerned’ about coronavirus while one percent of respondents suggested they were ‘unconcerned’. Half of the engineering services


respondents (51%) said that they have already encountered ‘delays and disruptions to current projects’, with 61% of larger businesses reporting current disruption. Around half of respondents already


report ‘delays and disruption to future work’. Over half of respondents (53%) said they were now ‘preparing business contingency plans’ as a result of developments, a figure which rose to 71% in larger businesses. The most commonly cited business activity in response to coronavirus to date is ‘reducing business travel’ and ‘asking or allowing staff to work from home’, followed by ‘business


contingency planning.’ However, around 10% of businesses say they have ‘shut down at certain premises or sites’, and over 10% of respondents also say they are ‘updating their contracts’ and ‘looking into alternative suppliers’. BESA director of legal and commercial Debbie Petford said: “Though these are just preliminary findings, the sheer scale of the disruption to the sector is alarming. We will be working around the clock to provide as much guidance as possible to our members, and calling on the government to keep providing additional stimulus and support as the situation evolves, to ensure businesses make it to other side of this crisis in one piece.”


The survey has already received over 600 responses from across the industry, including nearly 180 from larger businesses in the sector. The coronavirus situation is fast moving and further survey responses are expected to show increasing impact on the industry in the days ahead. Engineering services plays a critical role in developing and maintaining


the UK’s built environment and is fundamental to employment and keeping the UK economy moving.


F


rom a single unit in Sunderland, 17 years ago, to multiple offices across the North of England, HLA Services’ latest milestone sees them agree to look after the heating, air conditioning and ventilation at Middlesbrough College. With contracts already in place at


colleges in Sunderland, Durham and Newcastle, this latest achievement reflects the 17 year dedication of the engineering firm. Once based in just a small


Sunderland office, HLA Services now stand strong in Tyneside, Teesside, Cumbria and Leeds. Directors Paul Smith and Neil Henry – both engineers by trade – have been there since the very beginning, and have witnessed the number of staff employed at the company rise from just three, originally – to 130 today. The company recently turned over an impressive £12 million, and both long-serving directors recognise the family run ethos (that


founded the company) as key to both long-term growth, and securing their latest contract. “We have people who have worked


for us for ten or 15 years from when they were teenage apprentices, and are now on their way to becoming senior engineers with their own apprentices. That’s like watching your kids grow up, which I find a really rewarding part of working here,” said Mr Henry. “I make a point of getting to know


them all personally - when their birthdays are, when their kids have been born and so on. I might only see them once a week before they head off in their vans, but they’ll never be just a number to me.” With Middlesbrough College now on


board for the next 3 years, students have been invited to join others from Sunderland College and attend work experience placements with HLA Services. Whether these students end up employed full time by HLA Services, or decide to move on, both directors are just extremely delighted that more skilled engineers have joined the workforce across the region, bettering the North East and what it has to offer.


Thermofrost 12 November 2019 www.acr-news.com


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