I had planned to utilise this “office arrest” and write a“Site Sunday” Article about Andrew Shields our Managing Director. However,romance took over and Andrew whisked his wife Kate (our Project Manager) away to Paris to celebrate their 15th wedding Anniversary. I cannot leave the absence of an article completely with Andrew. I had underestimated how responsible I would feel for our work experience student and thrived on the opportunity to show her all the functionalities within the department and the business as a whole, I got carried away. I really enjoyed her placement and hope she will come back for an internship. I have to be honest this positive distraction left me in a position of “my dog ate my homework!”
For todays “Site Sunday”, I purposefully approached Paul Chandler of Paul Chandler Groundworks for a Site visit. I wanted to gain an understanding of a “boots on the ground” Customer, who ultimately is the foundation of JCB, a Customer that resonates with Holt JCB Ltd and those within every aspect of the construction industry. It didn’t disappoint.
Paul Chandler was one of the first customers placed on my radar when I joined Holt JCB, for a number of positive reasons. The first notable instance was the installation of his new JCB 8026 Mini Excavator. Chris Barnes our Territory Sales Manager for Blandford, Wiltshire & Dorset, last year started at a similar time to me and he was keen to publicise this JCB machine renewal. I can’t position that this was an example of Chris keen to promote himself as a new Territory Sales Manager, because it truly wasn’t. Chris saw in Paul Chandler, what everyone at Holt JCB and his Customers see and rightly wanted to promote him; a gentleman who has built a successful business driven by the desire to honour the reputation that his own Dad had built for their family business.
This leads to my second exposure to Paul. It soon came to light that Paul Chandler had a very personal affinity with JCB and was celebrating through his Dads initial influence, 61yrs of JCB loyalty. This was impactful, it was my very first exposure to brand loyalty outside of my studies. Twelve months later, I am proud to note I have been made aware of numerous Holt JCB Customers similar to Paul where the JCB brand is very emotive. My latest communication with Paul, is when he asked if Holt JCB could help him design a logo to celebrate 60yrs of JCB loyalty, this privilege was assigned to me. Paul had a very clear idea of the design concept and it was an honour to work with him to create the final design.
I have learnt a lot about business synergy through my brief relationship with Paul and how communicating an honest message to market is essential for business longevity. When creating content for his JCB 8026 Mini Excavator back in September 2022, it was important to Paul that we included Earthwork Wilts Ltd. Paul formed a business synergy with Tanya Short of Earthwork 25yrs ago. They work in harmony utilising each others business skills. Tanya is an excellent Project Manager and also owns JCB machinery which Paul utilises for their joint projects. Tanya is able to call upon Paul's extensive groundworks and operator skills. The added bonus is Tanya's brother Darren, who works with them and is also a skilled operator and grounds worker. Paul's transparency and desire to attribute credit to others is a skill I have tried to replicate when creating content for all our customers, JCB products and Holt JCB family.
Paul invited me to visit him whilst working on a groundwork’s project in Marlborough. Although tucked away on a drive, the distinctive JCB was still easy to spot. It was the greatest pleasure to finally meet Paul in person, the heart-warming project he is currently working on seemed incredibly fitting. Paul's Client was a lady who, having lived in her families Thatched cottage since 1955 needed a new custom built home in her garden, giving peace of mind to herself and her family. Straight away I was gaining an insight into the sensitivities that often need consideration when managing a project. The planning application itself had taken four attempts to gain approval. Also the 4 Bedroomed Thatched cottage is stunning and the remaining garden is glorious, so this was a very personal project for everyone to manage. Due to its location the architect had to be sensitive to their surroundings whilst fulfilling the needs of their Client.
This purpose built project was within a residential area, so curtesy naturally had to be given to neighbours in addition to this dear lady who’s garden was effectively being re-purposed. I hadn’t ever considered these added levels of day to day life that those within the construction industry need to take into account when fulfilling a brief. Linda who was the daughter of Paul's Customer, was on site and she kindly gave me a few moments of her time. Linda explained how Paul was inclusive, excellent in communicating the different stages of the ground works project he was responsible for, that her mum refers to Paul and Darren as “her boys” and that they will all miss them when they have finished the project. I can see why.
As mentioned Paul is celebrating over 60yrs of JCB loyalty. He was only 3yrs old when his Dad bought a JCB 3C to work for Wiltshire County Council and for what would become extensive By pass work. Not many JCB 3C’s were seen in Wiltshire in the very early 1960’s. As we know all children love JCB’s, so it is no surprise that Paul reminisces fondly about sitting on his Dads lapin the JCB 3C as a 3/4yr old working the leavers. Paul chuckles that even today mums stop with their prams so their children can watch Paul's JCB Digger at work. Paul feels as though “he has never really grown up” and still loves the JCB to this day. Respectfully calculating Paul's age is not a difficult maths sum. He declares that whilst his health allows he will never retire; “why would want to when I enjoy what I do? I work outside, work with great people, have lovely Clients and new varied jobs all of the time.” This is a true testament to the industry.
Paul left school at 17yrs old and his Dad bought an additional JCB 3C so they could work together for Wessex Water, forming John Gordon Chandler & Son. It is interesting for me to hear about the “problematic” Leyland Engine that was used with the JCB 3C. Even though these evidently caused a problem for Paul and his Dad it still conjures up a very fond story. Paul explains how he and his Dad stayed up all night to fix (what was) the common issue of water getting into the cylinder, so they had to replace the liners. “Dad and I took the sump off, head off, pushed the liners in and put it back together and were back on site the next morning. We did all the repairs together. JCB replaced the Leyland with the Perkins Engine which was the right decision.” Again this is a fascinating tale to hear. I have been to JCB HQ in Rochester and have witnessed first hand the JCB product development team at work, so it is enthralling to here how these positive developments impact on Customers.
Paul reflects how from the 1970’s his Dad would faithfully renew his JCB machines every 3yrs. This is not a business decision which Paul has continued. He feels that because he is effectively an “owner operator” and that between himself and Darren’s continual respectful operation and Tanya's keen project management, they gain positive longevity from their JCB machines.An example of which is their JCB 8014 Mini Excavator that was renewed after 19yrs and still had its original battery. This was not down to limited usage,this was due to operator respect. This is an interesting business decision especially when Paul states the most important part of his business, is“machine reliability.” It is a relief then to hear he has a very positive relationship with our Depots. He speaks warmly of the Holt JCB family. When I consider the vast geography he covers Bristol, Bath, Wiltshire, Dorset, Somerset and even further afield, preventative maintenance and Uptime is essential to project delivery.
Another story Paul shared from his younger years was when a Holts engineer was visiting their site and watched with amusement as his Dad dug up a huge tree stump with the 3C rear bucket and whilst moving the tree stump back to the yard, performed a wheelie across the field. The engineer rather amusingly turned to the ”Do not Do” page of the “3C operators manual” where it described in detail that very operation before them. It was a great story and one I was glad Paul shared. Sadly Paul's Dad died in 1996, Paul explaining that he was operating a digger up until 2 weeks before he died. Despite this loss still being very raw, I was grateful to hear these treasured stories.
It is insightful to hear that Paul and Darren’s days are incredibly varied, and stacked full with a constant flow of activity. They are passionate about their operator capabilities and how essential these precision skills are for the success of their projects. Paul offers an extensive range of groundworks and operator knowledge from groundworks for Newbuilds up to DPC, bulk digging, agricultural projects, water works, foundation work, concreting, home renovations to name a few. Interestingly for me is the nature of their contracts means, they are responsible for many aspects outside of the cab. An example of this is how Paul and Darren will be digging a series of trenches and then managing the cement pour, water works or pipe working. It is evident that Paul takes pride in the ability to offer the full groundworks craftsmanship.
It truly is a craft, one which has to be incredibly accurate. Being stood on site certainly opens my eyes to aspects of site management that I hadn’t fully understood. The responsibility is overwhelming.A responsibility evidently taken seriously here. Years of experience means that this is second nature and not a daunting one for Paul, Darren or Tanya. Within my role as Digital Marketing Champion I have an acute awareness of Operator precision and how the JCB development team are ensuring the JCB machines optimise this. But stood on site speaking to Paul certainly brings it home. It is fascinating to hear Paul discuss the varied groundworks projects where this precision is required. The dig depth, pipework placement and boundary lines need to be accurate for the utility placements. Paul discusses contracts where these cannot be off, even by a mm, which I can only imagine has brought many intakes of breath when these moments are tested.
Meeting Paul and Darren was a truly humbling experience. As hoped I was given a “boots on the ground” experience and came away with a greater respect for the intricacies, of which there are many within our industry. My site visit wasn’t quite yet over. In typical respectful form, Paul was keen for me to speak to Tanya so that my “Site Sunday” was a true reflection of the business partnership. When I called Tanya it was interesting to hear that her Dad was also a huge influence. She came into construction as her Dad was in the construction industry, so she had been exposed to it and heard a lot about it. Tanya finds working in the construction industry very interesting and rewarding, thriving within the opportunity to help customers with renovations. It was energising to hear how she enjoys working from the ground level, to see the transformation once the work has been finished. It is evident that both companies have benefited from their established working relationship of over 20 years working together. They work well together and like any business partnership, on most occasions see eye to eye.
I am very grateful to Paul, Tanya and Darren for the time they have spent with me. I am also mindful of the business lessons I have learnt from Paul. The majority of his work comes from word of mouth and they have the ability to manage multiple contracts. There is no doubt that his Dad would be incredibly proud of the reputation he has maintained.
