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| 5 August 2004 - Western Morning News Construction Firm has built a niche business
By Judith Mullarkey When the construction industry is in your blood it is something you just keep returning to. That is what Neil Turner discovered when 16 years ago he set up his one-man-band building business. Neil’s father Roy had been a plasterer all his working life and Neil had followed in his footsteps as a builder. But it wasn’t until he was 30 that he decided to launch his own firm – Bovey Builders. His father and brother Mark both pitched in to help and wife Jane also agreed to get her hands dirty, developing skills as a bricklayer and electrician. “It was a real family business in the early days,” explained Neil. But after 16 years and a name change to Bovey Construction, the business has grown beyond recognition and has carved a name for itself in a niche business. The firm now has a loyal and experienced band of employees totalling around 40 – and Jane is still a vital part of the team, with Neil’s brother-in-law, Simon Curling. Bovey Construction, based in Caton, near Ashburton, has moved on from the everyday work of replacing slates on roofs to more prestigious projects. “We are in the position now where architects come to us,” Neil said. “We are lucky in that once they have worked with us they want to work with us again.” The level of the firm’s professionalism was recently recognised
when it won an award thanks to Teignbridge Council. The nominations
for the Built in Quality Awards are made by local authority building
control officers who work with construction teams on site, ensuring
that work is up to standard. “His only interest is that he wants to increase the quality of compliance to standards. “We were awarded 210 out of a possible 230 points and one of the categories in which we scored ten out of ten was the speed with which faults were rectified. “No one likes to talk about mistakes, but we all make them and it is what you do when things go wrong that matters, so we were pleased with that.” The project which won Bovey Construction its recognition from
Teignbridge Council was an unusual extension to a private house
on Dartmoor which had once been lived in by a friend of Agatha
Christie. So the conservatory extension which was added hugs the building in a semi-circle, creating a wonderful spot from which to view the garden. A new entrance was added to the front of the property, plugging a wind tunnel which has been formed by the original gables. Teignbridge Council put Bovey Construction through to the national finals of the Built in Quality Awards, where it was up against other construction firms from around the country and came away with a “highly recommended” certificate presented by TV personality Linda Barker. Bovey Construction, which works on contracts from £25,000 to £1 million, mostly concentrates on refurbishment projects and new home builds, and has worked on a number of new health centres. It has Investor in People status, has created its own customer charter, and employs a firm to carry out spot checks on its sites to “keep the site managers on their toes”. Over 70 per cent of the staff have construction qualifications or are training for them, from the younger employees to the more mature. Neil said: “I have one guy who joined us when he was 63
and is still with us at 67, working a four-day week, and he is
a gem. There is a huge shortage of skills in this industry, and
I want to hang on to someone like that who has the skills and
can also pass them on to the younger ones.” He said: “With the trained guys we have we can only get better and better, and we want to be known as the best in the area.” |
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