Wrapping up 2023, with Tristan Llewellyn
2023 has been another successful year for Soil Engineering, substantially due to the continued efforts of our staff and suppliers throughout the UK. We’ve once again exceeded our budget expectations in delivering profitable revenue and have maintained a positive outlook when it comes to investing in new technologies and techniques to strengthen and diversify our business offering for the future.
Throughout the year our existing and ongoing activity on HS2 Phase 1 has continued to provide opportunities, and whilst the cancellation of HS2 Phase 2 ground investigation work is a disappointment we have, through careful discipline and sector selection, developed a sufficiently robust and diverse business away from HS2 to ensure a strong start to 2024. Our Instrumentation and Monitoring department continues to develop in this respect, providing critical I & M services for the majority of the existing HS2 construction partners.
We’ve increased our focus on environmentally sustainable projects, and specifically alternative or green energy schemes, with a detailed ground investigation for a significant combined wind and hydro power scheme undertaken in autumn 2023, and a major ground investigation informing the design of a further pumped storage hydro scheme commenced in December. Sustainability remains a critical focus for Soil Engineering and aligned with our own aim to cut carbon emissions from our work, it’s good to see us contributing to decarbonising the British economy.
The positive environmental theme of our work has continued in the water and utilities sector, undertaking a range of schemes across the country designed to enhance strategic assets and improve water quality. Public and stakeholder benefit has also featured highly in our workload in 2023 with Soil Engineering completing numerous ground investigation and ground remediation projects with The Coal Authority’s Public Safety and Subsidence Team.
Our specialist grouting team have also achieved record revenue in 2023 and successfully completed a range of projects in a wide variety of settings including several drinking water supply reservoirs and associated infrastructure, new highway schemes, prison upgrades, industrial redevelopments, new housing and the rail sector.
Looking forward to 2024, we’re continuing to invest in our delivery capability, with further plant, equipment and digitalisation developments to further diversify and modernise our capability. We’ll start the year with teams deployed across the UK engaged on a wide variety of projects including rail, water, highways and green energy sectors. With a focus on sustainability at the forefront of our business strategy we hope to build on our recent project successes and collaborations throughout 2024.
