Drilling company looks to growth and recruitment

A construction contractor, which specialises in diamond drilling and concrete sawing, has achieved its best year of growth for five years and is now looking to recruit 20 new staff.

D-Drill & Sawing, which is headquartered in Coventry and has offices in Newcastle, Wigan, Sheffield, Bridgend, London and Newbury, increased its turnover by 19 per cent after introducing a range of new services.

The company, which employs more than 80 staff across the country, has continued to be one of the leading diamond drilling, sawing and controlled demolition contractors in the country as well as building on its kerb-cutting and concrete scanning services.

D-Drill, which is run by Julie White – one of the most prominent female figures in construction - has added anchor fixings and pull-testing expertise to the business and this has led to new contracts in the mobile phone mast and solar power sectors.

Julie and her team are now actively recruiting experienced and qualified operatives as well as continuing the company’s ongoing commitment to apprentices.

Around three-quarters of D-Drill’s workforce began with the company as an apprentice and a further five are set to start with the business in the coming weeks.

Julie said D-Drill’s success was down to a range of factors but that conditions remain tough.

Read our interview with Julie White in our upcoming March issue of The Business Magazine

She said; “There is absolutely no doubt that trading has been difficult over the past four or five years. There was uncertainty before Covid and, when the pandemic hit, construction really suffered.

“The industry hasn’t fully recovered and, certainly from a labour point of view, it’s still very difficult to bring in people to get the kind of growth that we want as a business.

“That is why our growth over the course of the past financial year is so pleasing because it has come from doing what D-Drill has done best over the past five and a half decades.

“We continue to grow our own through training and apprenticeships which is a tried and tested model for us and means that 75 per cent of our workforce has come through that route.

“On top of that, the business continues to innovate and diversify by bringing forward new services that mean we can operate in more sectors, which has proved to be very successful over the past 12 months.

“The aim is to grow again over the next year and, to do that, we’ll be bringing through more apprentices but also looking to hire experienced and skilled operators in our sector.

“Furthermore, we will continue to look at new markets and new services to ensure that we are always one step ahead.”