29/07/11 - Market differentiation secures Thomas Vale's leading position

Mike Wallis, Chairman adds: “Our continued focus on cash management and driving efficiency within the Thomas Vale Group has ensured that we have maintained our competitive edge. Management and communication to Supply Chain has been critical in ensuring the success of a group-wide strategy to deliver greater cashable and non-cashable benefits for clients, delivery partners and stakeholders.”

Whilst the group’s heritage and roots are in the Midlands, their continued growth has seen an expansion into both the north-east of the UK and Welwyn Garden City, Hertfordshire with new offices in order to effectively manage works for new blue-chip clients across the country.

Over the past 12 months, the business has invested heavily in the research, development and implementation of expertise for delivery in new target markets including Facilities Management, Sustainable Solutions and Consultancy; and in January 2011, they implemented a core strategy for Building Information Modeling and Management (BIM); ahead of the UK Government Construction Strategy noting aspirations and expectations for BIM to be utilized on all public sector capital projects before 2013.

Thomas Vale played a vital role in the Constructing Excellence response to the Government BIM Strategy and already, they are seeing the measurable benefits that can be brought in to the design, construction and post-occupancy management of buildings and infrastructure. The business is currently delivering BIM on a number of high-profile projects within the business for public sector clients on housing, education, offices and emergency services projects.

Tony Hyde adds: “To be able to derive data that can transform the design in a virtual construction model ensures that designers and design teams are able to accurately anticipate a projects programme – from start to finish, as well as helping clients and end-users understand the functionality of a building, how it will feel and how it all fits together. 5 years ago we were invited by the BERR (was DTI) to review worldwide innovation and its implementation in America and Canada, and most recently as Japan. That’s how long ago we started our BIM journey.”

Their work in the public sector and highly respected and talked about capabilities in their approach to partnership working; saw the company appointed by Wolverhampton City Council to deliver the UK’s first accredited Passivhaus education schemes. The first air tests for the projects have achieved air leakage levels of just 0.3 air changes per hour, significantly better than the minimum requirement for Passivhaus of 0.6 and far in excess of the current UK Building Regulations. Whilst the rest of the UK is struggling to achieve its carbon emission targets for new public sector projects, Thomas Vale are delivering above and beyond by working closely with design teams and architects in order to ensure a major reduction in end-user running costs which is critical in the current economy – notably, all this is being achieved with no additional capital investment in order to achieve the Passivhaus standards.

In 2010, the company completed the multi-award winning St Luke’s Primary School in Wolverhampton which as delivered in partnership with Architype. Demonstrating its eco-minimalist approach, the form and section of the building reduces energy consumption by maximising insulation and natural daylight, as well as using a passive ventilation system and carefully controlling solar gain. The school was the UK’s first mainland, mainstream BREEAM Excellent school to ever be delivered and were awarded BCSE School of the Year, the RIBA Sorrell Foundation Award and was awarded Environmental Project of the Year and Project of the Year under £10million at the CN Quality Awards.

The group has been selected for some of the most prestigious capital project contracts in the UK including a £38million New Office Development for Birmingham City Council, a £20million redevelopment of the Telford International Centre for the Southwater Group, the sought after West Midlands Contractors Framework in partnership with Worcestershire County Council and other strategic partners which will deliver c£180million worth of capital projects over a four year period and selective new partnerships with blue-chip retail Clients such as Tesco and Morrison’s delivering refresh and regeneration projects across the Midlands and South.

Tony Hyde, Group Managing Director adds: “We are confident that the new strategic business model that we have developed for the business will continue to deliver robust capabilities to our public and private sectors clients including the use of emerging innovations and markets which the rest of the UK construction industry is yet to implement. The continued effective management and selective diversion away from markets that carry high-risk has been essential in allowing us to achieve our vision for the business and the future.”