Castle and Pryor was established in 1991 by the two principle Directors, Mark Castle and Graham Pryor. Both Mark and Graham identified the market changes in technology and the development of new initiatives that the diamond drilling and cutting industry was offering.
They saw that the new development was exciting and clearly leading the way in technology, which was transforming the way the construction industry, was working. This philosophy has continued to today where both Mark and Graham are at the forefront of engaging with new technology and techniques to improve safety and efficiency in the diamond drilling, cutting and controlled demolition industries.
Growth and development have been at the centre of the Castle and Pryor Group with the organic establishment of two further divisions: Diamond Hire and Sales and UK Floor Preparation. DHS as it is well known was launched in 2005 whilst UKFP was as recent as 2013. In addition to these divisions a portable pull testing service was launched following a growing response within the industry to verify the security of fixings and anchors widely used on construction sites.
The Company work for construction companies, local authorities, airports, rail, utilities, schools, hospitals, prisons, MOD, highways, the list is endless. There are very few industries or construction projects that at some time will always need their services. Castle and Pryor consider there to be 3 main differentiators between them and their competition, firstly they have a strict adherence to Health & Safety, protecting all their stakeholders; they use a professional HSE consultancy. Secondly the Company has integrity in pricing work at the value required to complete jobs professionally, rather than to win volume. Lastly they have a highly trained and experienced senior management team with company longevity delivering a well organised and coordinated business.
Recent Projects
At TATA Steel Port Talbot site near Swansea in South Wales, Castle and Pryor were employed to remove an iron and slag overspill from the under-hearth cooling pipe work within one of the TATA Steel blast furnaces. Using a combination of Brokk 90 / 160 (robotically controlled demolition machine’s) a team of Castle and Pryor operatives were scheduled to work three 24hr shifts to complete the task however with combined forward thinking and experienced operatives the project was completed in good time using only one of the 24 hour shifts required.
Phil Santaana, Asset Improvement Manager Ironworks at TATA Steel’s Port Talbot site says “Castle and Pryor excelled at the safe and expedited removal of the iron and slag from around the cooling pipes within a tight and often awkward environment. We were delighted with the results and look forward to working with them again on projects in the future”
Castle & Pryor are no different from other companies within the industry in the fact that they faced many of the same challenges – how do companies make it through and then bounce back from a deep recession? In the case of Castle and Pryor smart and savvy business decisions have been made allowing them to maintain their position, when many other businesses have sadly not continued.
Focusing on quality and identifying the key areas of importance in the industry has meant that Castle and Pryor has built trust and a strong reputation, this in turn has created long-term relationships with their customers and subsequently their clients. By implementing this type of approach they have nurtured sectors and worked in areas that traditionally are a challenge to access, giving them substantial traction within large blue chip brands in the construction industry.
This is particularly true of the aviation sector with its high security challenges, extremely stringent safety requirements and the need for ‘day to day’ business to continue as normal alongside live construction projects. In 2013 Castle and Pryor were contracted by Morgan Sindall to assist in the creation of remote stand and pier access for the gigantic Airbus A380 at London’s Heathrow airport. Using a combination of diamond drilling, saw cutting, coring and portable pull testing to deliver bay replacement, bollard and electrical duct installation and portable pull testing.
Rob Walburn, Supply Chain and Procurement Manager from Morgan Sindall cites ‘As usual we found Castle and Pryor to be highly professional and excellent to work with, they know the airport environment well and they worked closely with us and other contractors at all stages of the project to make sure it was completed to our standards. In addition they were flexible in starting the work at short notice and still managed to complete on time’
At Castle & Pryor Health and Safety is their highest priority, instilled within the matrix of the company incorporating operations, planning and pricing through to execution of the works. They have a dedicated Health and Safety consultant in Turner Business Consultants and their teams of operatives are fully compliant with SMSTS, SSSTS and NVQ L2 accreditations. Throughout all levels of the company they encourage and vigorously promote a fully mandated pro-active Health and Safety culture and regularly execute Health and Safety performance reviews and audits to ensure that the best Health and Safety practice is adhered to at all management and site levels.
With regular site visits by senior site management team, with an accumulated knowledge of the trade spanning some 100 years between them and, regular recorded and documented ‘On Site’ toolbox talks ensure that good Health and Safety theory is converted into best Health and Safety practice at workplace levels, all relevant Health and Safety information is effectively disseminated at workplace levels and the Company promotes a ‘can do and can do safely’ attitude throughout all levels of company management and workplace operations.
Any required trade training needs are identified within the workforce and are duly addressed in-house with all trade training conforming to recognised NVQ L2 Standards as set by the C.I.T.B. Castle & Pryor operatives also receive specialist training from other C.I.T.B recognised training providers. It is their aim to provide a safe working environment through the medium of good Health and Safety Management and Training for all their operatives, and any other person affected by their operations on site.
“Plans for 2014 are ambitious but achievable,” Mark Castle states. “ We will continue to grow at a steady and reasonable pace, all the while providing the highest level of service to our customers, maintaining the integrity of the work that they deliver and supporting our greatest asset, the wealth of expertise in our work force’. With the positive outlook for the economy alongside a sensible but driven approach Castle & Pryor will continue to lead their specialist sector with new equipment, vehicles, and will focus on a more pro-active relationship with clients starting with their recent membership of Construction Line and an exciting launch of a new service mid-year, watch this space for more information on this growing company.
