When, in 1981, Bertie and Shirley Wilson started up an engineering business, little did they realise how big the firm would grow over the intervening years. From humble beginnings, the business has grown and provide services mainly in the civil engineering, marine construction and fusion welding sectors with the customer base now covering Ireland, mainland UK and Europe.
Richard Chambers started with the company in 1999 and he is now a director alongside Bertie and Shirley’s son Derek, together they have brought the company forward and they are now recognised as one of the leading engineering firms in Northern Ireland.
Since its inception 36 years ago, the company’s technical expertise has saw them involved in many prestigious projects down through the years. The efficiency of their highly trained staff is another reason that the business has excelled so much.
“The business is going well and we are very busy at the moment,” said Richard. “We have a number of projects ongoing and where we are busiest at the moment is in Scotland where we are working with Scottish Water and Caledonian Water on various developments.
“Projects in Northern Ireland include work for the local authority, Northern Ireland Water and LIDL and we would have a lot of repeat clients in our customer base.”
AG Wilson Ltd employ 70 people all of who are very experienced and dedicated to their roles, which has enabled the company to finish projects to beyond their clients’ expectations.
“A lot of the workforce would be with us for many years, some of who would have over years done with us and they bring a great deal of experience to be business. There would be a low turnover of staff here. We place a big emphasis on in-house training which ensures that all our employees are capable of carrying out their duties to the highest standard.”
The quality of work carried out by the AG Wilson Ltd team was recognised at this year’s Plant & Civil Engineer, Plant, Construction & Quarry Awards 2017 when they were awarded the Construction Project of the Year award for the work carried out on the Olympia Leisure Centre & Windsor Park Storm Sewer Project.
“We were delighted to win the award and it is great to be recognised for the work that we do. This was a complex project and both we, as the main contractor and most importantly the client were delighted with the way that it turned out.”
As stated, fusion welding is a specialised area that AG Wilson Ltd are experts in and they offer a complete service in butt fusion welding of polyethylene pipes.
“What sets us apart from other companies in the same field is that we have the ability to provide a complete welding service of large diameter P.E pipes. We invest a great deal in the necessary machinery to carry out the work.”
Although, Richard revealed that the marine work was a small part of the business, they are still capable of carrying out a wide range of projects, which they have done in the past and includes dredging, piling, marina installations, Outfalls, harbour repairs, sea defence and rock armour installations.
All projects are carried out through Third Party Accredited ISO 9001: 2015 Quality Management (QMS) & ISO 14001:2015 Environmental Management Systems, while health and safety plays a huge part in the everyday running of the business.
“Health and safety is paramount and we recognise the need for providing a safe working environment to everyone that is involved on one of our projects. All H&S is carried out in compliance with both Buildsafe NI Initiative and SSIP forum. We also operate OHSAS 18001 accredited H&S management systems.”
The belief upheld within the company sees the importance of meeting the clients’ needs in an honest and professional manner, thus AG Wilson Ltd has a consistent track record as a high quality civil engineering firm who delivers quality projects within budget and time schedules.
Their professional approach, reliable service and competitive pricing are three key aspects as to why the company are chosen first for some of their projects. That and the quick time frame in which they get the job done makes them first choice for the decision makers on these projects.
“There’s definitely a strict time frame with these projects and the idea is to get the project started as soon as possible and completed within the agreed timeframe whilst ensuring that the work completed is to very high standards.”
The company’s track record makes for good reading too, with hundreds of jobs being carried out to excellent standards down through the years.
This places them in a great position to further expand their portfolio in the path that lies ahead. Another certainty we can rely on is that AG Wilson Ltd will very much remain a family run business into the future.
Contact Details:
AG Wilson Ltd
8 Upper Ballydugan Rd,
Portadown,
Craigavon
BT63 5NU,
UK
Phone: +44 28 3834 1255
email: [email protected]
Taken from Building Ireland Magazine, February 2018, Vol 4 No 2
