Member Article

York’s Shepherd wins prestigious Construction News title

York-headquartered Shepherd Construction has won one of the UK construction industry’s most prestigious award titles.

The contractor walked away with the top accolade of Supreme Award at this year’s Construction News awards as well as winning the Project of the Year (£10m-£50m) category for the pioneering work undertaken at the National Renewable Energy Centre (Narec) in Blyth, Northumberland.

The 57-strong panel of judges praised the expertise and collaboration employed by Shepherd Construction’s project team which also included the technical specialist Shepherd Engineering Services (SES).

The project comprised the complex construction of three ground-breaking structures that are now being used for the on-shore testing of next generation offshore wind technology.

In their citation the judges commented: “To achieve the incredible tolerances required within the budget and programme is a supreme effort that deserves this recognition. It was a privilege to judge such an amazing scheme. It made our day.”

The project began in January 2011 with Shepherd completing the final of the three structures six weeks early in January this year, enabling Narec to become the world’s leading facility for the testing of offshore wind turbines, wind turbine blades and tidal turbines.

Narec’s operations director, Tony Quinn, said: “This is a tremendous reward for the entire team, it highlights the merits of working collaboratively to deliver world-leading innovative engineering solutions.

“Right from the start there was a keen desire from the whole team to make Narec’s vision of a world-leading facility for offshore renewables a reality.”

Neil Matthias, project manager for Shepherd Construction commented: “The award underlines our authority in delivering complex projects, not only in terms of the technical expertise and ability to create innovative solutions but also in our approach, particularly when it comes to working closely with others to draw out the best skills and knowledge in the face of tough construction challenges.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Mark Lane .