European Enterprise Award 2020

EU BUSINESS NEWS / 2020 European Enterprise Awards 39 , Best Oil & Gas Infrastructure Contractor 2020 - Southern England Dorset-based key service provider to the gas mains industry, JDT Utilities, has accomplished much in its ten years of life. We caught up withManaging Director Robert Wiles as he reflects on the company’s previous decade and where its ambitions lie fromhere. Nov20470 Established in 2010, JDT Utilities is a private company providing gas distribution network infrastructure replacement, refurbishment, repair and maintenance for the UK. It operates out of depots in Dorset, South East London and Hampshire. Currently its principal client is Southern Gas Network (SGN) delivering primarily Repex replacement of metal gas mains and domestic systems with Polyethylene (PE), as part of a 30 year OFGEM initiative to improve the aging network prone to leakage and failure, and also prepare for new low-carbon fuels of the future. Across two contracts in Wessex and the South East of London JDT replaces up to 120Km of gas mains per year. Three years ago the company expanded into more complex gas engineering and now provides for SGN Capex Medium and Intermediate Pressure gas mains/ infrastructure maintenance and renovation with a value of around £7M per annum. An example of the work it undertakes was a 15 month project diverting a medium pressure gas mains from a development site in central London, which presented the company with significant challenges. These manifested in having to navigate around the underground railway, as well as the unforeseen challenge of encountering potential unexploded bombs in what turned out to be a WW2 bomb site. It has also grown a partnership with UCL Robotics enabling their innovative remote robotic gas mains investigation and repair system across both SGN and CADENT’s gas distribution networks combining both company’s unique skills and their abilities to deliver cost-effective and safe infrastructure solutions with the minimum of disruption to the public. Making it stand out from the competition is its scrupulous adherence to safety and compliance, earning itself consistently high OFGEM customer satisfaction scores and gaining a reputation for delivering projects on time and on budget. During its period of growth in which it reached a medium sized enterprise, it kept an eagle eye on how to scale its dedication to safety with that growth. It has achieved 100% scores from compliance audits by Achilles, gaining the accolade of an ISO9001 certification. Alongside this, it prides itself on its robust internal structure. With a formally appointed board, the company’s managing director is a member of the Institute of Directors, and the corporate decisions that the company’s leading minds make are driven by the CSR ethics principles of people, planet, and profit. Internally, they enjoy a turnover of over £23M with post COVID19 forecasts of up to £28M, and the support of their 250 employees and sub-contractors. By the end of their current SGN contract, they will have achieved the colossal accomplishment of having replaced circa 700,000 metres of gas mains across the south of England. This stage of life for JDT Utilities comes at a tumultuous time for the industry in general. With the pandemic causing the oil and gas sector’s third price collapse in 12 years in an already rocky period of excessive supply, alongside the introduction of shale and a global attitude of ignoring limited capital discipline, JDT Utilities has a challenge indeed when attempting to forecast industry trends. Due to its operation in the UK, it has had to be mindful of OFGEM’s future funding uncertainty and the government’s plans to try and seriously reduce carbon emissions by way of funding green solutions. However, JDT Utilities is confident that it will have a place in serving this green future; upcoming green technologies will require leak- proof high-pressure PE gas mains networks and domestic systems, both of which it can provide. JDT Utilities’ strategic business plan survived COVID19, and looking to the future its controlled and deliberate expansion sees it continue to deliver mains replacement services for SGN with a new 5 years contract, and it has just won contracts to deliver the same for CADENT on their network, which would take its work into North London and East Anglia in 2021. It also plans to continue its expansion across the wider utilities sector to spread risk and has set aside capital to achieve this. Far from just focused on their impact in the corporate sphere, JDT Utilities is also concerned with philanthropy and supporting their local community. They have several ongoing projects with which they give back to their community in Dorset and across the South and from where they recruit. Locally they engage in youth team sponsorships such as supporting the Fawley Falcons football team and nationally they support services charities such as the Hull for Heroes Veteran’s Village initiative and the CEO’s own completion of half marathons for the Royal British Legion. Company: JDT utilities Ltd Contact: Robert Wiles Website: jdtutilities.com