Engineering company doubles turnover and workforce

Jun 25 2008 Liverpool Daily Post

Barry Turnbull meets ROB MELLING, chief executive of Curtins Consulting

CURTINS Consulting’s boardroom sits in a prominent position overlooking the Mersey. On this particular day, a scowling sky stared down on a river infused with a battleship-grey hue as sheets of rain swept in from the west.

Rob Melling’s mood was a great deal sunnier. Under his four-year stewardship, the structural engineering consultancy has doubled turnover and staff numbers.

Property is the big fall-guy at the moment, but not everyone’s a loser. I was derided a couple of years ago when selling at the height of the housing boom after predicting a crash. Who’s laughing now?

Similarly, Curtins has made a conscious decision to steer clear of the city apartments frenzy and concentrate on other specialist areas of work.

That decision has paid off, too, with an annual growth rate of near 20% and a healthy order book for 2009. The exposure to residential property is contained to social housing, which should continue to be an area of steady growth.

Company man Melling was given the top job in 2004 and implemented a four-year strategy that has seen turnover jump to £14m in that period.

“We had experienced steady growth for a long time and when I took over we re-appraised what we were doing and focused on our strong selling point, which is an intelligent, skilled workforce. OK, we were also operating during a buoyant time for property as well, but growth has still been dramatic.

“I am also very confident about the next four years, too, although I have pegged back growth expectations to around 10% a year. I am happy that the sectors we are involved in will continue to grow, too.

“At one stage, a few years ago, 50% of the business was in residential and there was a conscious decision to move out of private housing which now looks well-founded.”

Curtins operates in various sectors including leisure, education, health and judicial buildings – it is currently on the short-list for the civil engineering element of the Liverpool Magistrates Court project. Lecturer Bill Curtin founded the business in 1960 when he took his best students and opened a structural engineering practice. Now the business employs 200 staff in 11 locations with its head office at Columbus Quay.

Melling joined from Wirral Grammar School after discover- ing a flair for technical drawing, and later took time out to gain an engineering degree at Sheffield University while continuing to work during the holidays.

“The first job I was involved in was the renovation of Albert Dock, and I remember at the time there was even a call for it to be pulled down. I then went on to become chartered in 1990, so it was a total of six or seven years, work and the qualifying exam was seven hours long.

“We take on graduates now but also take school-leavers and give them vocational training. The company culture is very much based on developing people, and a lot of our offices have people who learnt the business in Liverpool.”

In fact, Melling’s own break came when a client announced he was carrying out some work in Scotland, and asked Curtins to open an office up there.

Melling upped sticks in 1993 and stayed for more than 10 years. “It was great,” he recalls. “Not only is it a fantastic place to work, but it was an opportunity for me to virtually run my own business with backing from the company. In five years, we went from scratch to a £1m turnover.

“When I became chief executive in 2004, I obviously needed to be near the centre of things so my wife and I moved back with the kids, who had pronounced Scottish accents, which have now softened somewhat.”

Curtins has been involved in many of Liverpool’s regeneration schemes, including Queen Square, but until now has not worked on Liverpool One. That is changing with a Grosvenor project involving a casino, hotel and shops on the former NCP car park in Hanover Street.

The company gets involved at the initiation of any project. As well as structural and civil engineering work, it also provides risk assessment expertise to examine land to see if it is environmentally sound or subject to flooding. It will then work closely with architects and developers on detailed aspects of a particular scheme.

At the moment, Curtins is col- laborating with the Manx govern- ment on an eco-friendly building.

“We are conscious of our own carbon footprint of course,” says Melling. “But where we can really help is in creating build- ings that are sustainable. On the Isle of Man, the government wanted a low carbon footprint and a more efficient building.

“We looked at various things, including straw walls and solar panels, but these have limited effectiveness.

“Instead we are not digging into the ground but laying foundations above ground, we also have natural ventilation and are putting grass on the roof to absorb moisture and act as insulation. The sustainable aspect of construction is certainly something that is going to continue to develop and is also something we are passionate about.”

Melling misses being in the heart of the city, where most of the other regional offices are located, but says staff love being there for the parking and rail access.

And staff satisfaction is high on the agenda. Melling likes his people to enjoy themselves, and not just in work. In September, the whole Curtins shooting- match is debunking for a day and night at Alton Towers, and another social event involves walking in Shropshire.

The 44-year-old says his spare time is spent with his wife and daughters, aged 10 and 11, his biggest extravagance being the holiday home in Spain.

Although Curtins has been around since 1960, it does not have the biggest profile among Liverpool businesses. Melling concedes they are well-known in the professional community, but not so much to the wider world. He plans to change all that.