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O’Brien has taken stock of 4 new Thwaites 9T Mach2290X Dumpers.
The new additions will be added to the extensive fleet of company owned machinery. This ensures O’Brien continue to make use of the latest technology as well as providing safe, reliable, and environmentally friendly vehicles for our staff.
The team look forward to getting the shiny new kit out on site.
With a long-established track record of delivering expert civil engineering solutions across the Midlands, we are proud to be named SME of the Year at the West Midlands Celebrating Construction Awards 2016.
We scooped the highly acclaimed award for investing in our people, focussing on improving customer satisfaction and adopting industry best practises across all areas of the business. We were also praised for our commitment to sustainability and maintaining an above industry record for health and safety.
Peter O’Brien, Managing Director, said: “A fundamental element of our success has been the commitment we’ve placed to the Midlands. We believe by focussing on the region, we can forge strong and long-lasting relationships with clients and our supply chain facilitating greater collaboration, essential in delivering projects successfully.”
Established in 1958, O’Brien has partnered with the region’s leading industry clients, including: Morgan Sindall, Aston University, John Sisk & Son, Kier Group and University of Birmingham.
Peter added: “It’s not just about consolidating your efforts into one area. We have continually invested back into the business so that we have a highly talented and knowledgeable team, operate the most efficient plant and technology, and benchmark against industry best practices, like Achilles BuildingConfidence – having achieved a 5-star rating in 2014. This regional award recognises the hard work and commitment of the whole O’Brien team.”
According to a report published by Ofsted, outside of football, a large proportion of students, who have gone on to become the next elite athletes and tennis, rugby union and cricket players, have been nurtured on the sports fields of England’s independent schools.
41% of Team GB athletes who won a medal during the London 2012 Olympics were educated at an independent school. This is quite remarkable when you consider only 7% of school-aged pupils attend an independent school in England, compared to 86–93% of the population who are educated by a state run school.
This should come as no surprise when you consider that Independent schools have embedded competitive sports into their culture and ethos. They ensure all students participate in frequent sports activities; building confidence, self-esteem, academic excellence, character building, but also providing young people with the platform to realise their sporting goals and ambitions.
Independent schools do enjoy greater financial benefits over state schools, but now the Department for Culture, Media and Sport is investing over £1 billion in the next few years to help people get fitter and healthier through a range of programmes designed to make access to sports facilities easier for everyone.
So, with grants and funding available to schools and local authorities, this is a great opportunity to get new sports pitches and facilities in place and bring competitive sport into the fabric of the education curriculum of state schools.
It is vital that schools and local authorities make the most of this opportunity because the skills adopted during physical education and through regular participation, are essential to the early development of children and young people. It can teach them key values, including: sportsmanship, teamwork, respect, mutual understanding and honesty.
Through competition, a child’s education is a far richer experience. They enjoy competition. Competitive sport encourages children to try harder. It also provides them with the experience of winning and losing and how to deal with both emotions.
Sports Pitch Specialists!
Investing in new sports facilities has to be done right for two important reasons: firstly, so that you get the best value from your budget, and secondly, so that you receive a high standard installation ensuring students can and will use them for years to come. To do it right you need to work with the best sports pitch providers you can and O’Brien Sports, who’s management team has over 55 years’ experience in sports pitch construction, is one of the first large civil engineering firms able to offer turnkey solutions for a range of sports facilities.
The company delivers projects ranging from stadiums and arenas through to rugby, football and hockey pitches. This capability is all maintained in house – with no outsourcing required – by a team of experts with a proven track record of delivering design and build sports projects to a diverse range of exacting client specifications.
The sports installations that we deliver include synthetic and Multi Use Games Area (MUGA) pitches with surfaces suitable for just about every sport and user, from professional sports teams to schools and communities, and natural sports pitches, such as those used for rugby, football and cricket.
Recent projects have included the construction of a FIFA-compliant football pitch, an Olympic-standard, eight lane athletics track (complete with long jump, triple jump, high jump and pole vault) and a football club (complete with 11 natural turf pitches, changing facilities, entrance road and car park). All elements of these projects were handled in house and to our uncompromising standards.
Services
O’Brien Sports offers a full range of sports pitch services, including:
The total solution…from concept to construction, we design and build all Synthetic and Natural Sports Surfaces.
T: 01926 423918
We’ve recently strengthened our earthworks service and plant hire division with the acquisition of a new GPS controlled CAT D6T dozer.
The new D6T will be put to the test at St. Modwen’s £100 million town centre masterplan at the former MG Rover site. This development will feature the Midlands’ largest Marks & Spencer store comprising 150,000 sq ft, a six floor multi storey, 500 space car park and an additional 45,000sq ft of retail, restaurant and café space.
We have been appointed by principal contractor, Morgan Sindall, to deliver a highways package – including earthworks, 1606m of drainage up to 6m deep and 4500m of kerbs and edgings.
The new CAT D6T takes our investment in state-of-the-art equipment and machinery up to an impressive £2.2m during the last 12 months, including: two new Volvo A25G articulated haulers, three Volvo EC140DL excavators and a CAT D6N GPS controlled dozer.
Mick O’Brien our Director, said: “Throughout the years, our expertise has grown but our aims remain much the same – to work with our clients as an expert partner and provide industry-leading staff, technology and skills to deliver end results that exceed expectations.”
“To achieve our goals, we believe we must continue to invest in our people, software and machinery to ensure we continually improve the quality of our work and the speed of installation, saving our clients both time and money.”
This latest investment is part of an ongoing diversification strategy that is transforming our business and seen us win countless awards in recognition of our innovation, including ‘Tomorrow’s Company’ and ‘Specialist Contractor of the Year’ by Construction News and ‘Contractor of the Year up to £300 million by Building Magazine.
As the industry prepares for its annual celebration at the Construction News Awards on 30 June 2015, the recognition we’ve received at previous awards has prompted us to proudly sponsor this year’s event.
The England Rugby World Cup 2015 provides the perfect opportunity to deliver a lasting legacy and to raise the profile of sport in our schools and the wider community.
In order to capitalise on the interest in sport generated, the availability of referees, coaches and quality sports facilities, to enable the next budding sportsmen and women to achieve their ambitions and succeed in their chosen field, will be high on the agenda.
Sports Pitch Specialists
The O’Brien Sports management team has over 55 years’ experience in sports pitch construction and we are one of the first large civil engineering firms able to offer turnkey solutions for a range of sports facilities, delivering projects ranging from stadiums and arenas through to rugby, football and hockey pitches. This capability is all maintained in house – with no outsourcing required – by a team of experts with a proven track record of delivering design and build sports projects to a diverse range of exacting client specifications.
The sports installations that we deliver include synthetic and Multi Use Games Area (MUGA) pitches with surfaces suitable for just about every sport and user, from professional sports teams to schools and communities, and natural sports pitches, such as those used for rugby, football and cricket.
Recent projects have included the construction of a FIFA-compliant football pitch, an Olympic-standard, eight lane athletics track (complete with long jump, triple jump, high jump and pole vault) and a football club (complete with 11 natural turf pitches, changing facilities, entrance road and car park). All elements of these projects were handled in house and to our uncompromising standards.
Oswestry School
O’Brien Sports constructed a synthetic grass hockey pitch for Oswestry School in Shropshire.
The design and build contract involved the construction of a full size sand dressed synthetic grass hockey pitch, installed upon an insitu rubber shock pad, on an engineered base.
The project included approximately 4500 m3 of earthwork remodelling, the construction of a spectator area, fencing and floodlighting. Additional works included: access roads and car parking facilities with bollard lighting.
The new pitch was completed within the 12 week time-frame and was handed over to the school ready for its new term.
“From my perspective, it was a delight to work with O’Brien and would not hesitate to recommend them to anyone. One of the reasons for choosing O’Brien was the fact that we were dealing with the top management from the start.”
Phil Bowd – Bursar at Oswestry School
Wasps Rugby Club
O’Brien Sports partnered with GreenFields UK for the installation of a new playing surface at the Ricoh Arena in Coventry.
The project involved site preparation works to remove the existing 8000m2 playing surface before the installation of a new natural turf surface, farmed in the Netherlands, could be installed. Works started on 5th December and was completed ready for Coventry City’s home league game with Fleetwood Town on 20th December.
Services
O’Brien offers a full range of sports pitch services, including:
The total solution…from concept to construction, we design and build all Synthetic and Natural Sports Surfaces.
T: 01926 423918
E: info@obriencontractors.co.uk
Sports Management Magazine – Vol 18 issue 4 2014
As the UK obesity statistics soar, the Department for Culture, Media and Sport is investing over £1 billion in the next few years to help people get fitter and healthier through a range of programmes designed to make access to sports facilities easier for everyone.
These investments are crucial in getting people more active as a report released by the Institute of Economic Affairs in August 2014 revealed that Britain’s obesity problem is more to do with lack of exercise than with eating too much, or eating the wrong things. So, with grants and funding available to schools, sports clubs, community groups and local authorities, this is a great opportunity for neighbourhoods all over the country to get new sports pitches and facilities in place and get people more active.
With the latest statistics showing that 64% of UK adults are overweight or obese, as are one in every ten children when starting primary school, it’s vital that schools and communities make the most of this opportunity.
Pitching It Right
Investing in new sports facilities has to be done right for two important reasons: firstly, so that this crucial funding is put to best use, and so that people can and will use them for years to come. To do it right you need to work with the best sports pitch providers you can and O’Brien Contractors is the first and only civil engineering firm in the UK able to offer turnkey solutions for a range of sports pitch installations.
The company can deliver projects ranging from stadiums and arenas through to sports tracks and football pitches, tailored to meet your individual needs. O’Brien’s team of experts has a proven track record of delivering design and build sports projects to a diverse range of exacting client specifications and all of the work is completed in-house with no outsourcing required, meaning you get better value for money and projects are always delivered on time and on budget.
The sports installations the company delivers include natural sports pitches, such as those used for rugby, football and cricket, and synthetic and MUGA (Multi-Use-Games-Area) pitches with surfaces suitable for just about every sport and user, from professional sports teams to schools and communities.
Recent projects that O’Brien has completed include the construction of a FIFA-compliant football pitch; an Olympic-standard athletics track complete with long jump, triple jump, high jump, pole vault and a 400m running track; a football club with 11 natural turf pitches, changing facilities, entrance road and car park; and a full size sand dressed synthetic grass Hockey pitch, installed upon an insitu rubber shock pad on an engineered base for Oswestry School.
“From my perspective, it was a delight to work with O’Brien Contractors and would not hesitate to recommend you to anyone. One of the reasons for choosing O’Brien was the fact that we were dealing with the top management from the start (Mick) and because you are the actual contractors rather than a middle man. The construction itself wasn’t straight forward due to a large cut and fill exercise, but the end result is spectacular and we are very pleased with the outcome. In addition, all of the subcontractors used for the specialist areas (floodlights, fencing, and pitch surface) were very reputable with no shortcuts in quality once the contract had been won. Overall, we are very pleased.”
Phil Bowd – Bursar at Oswestry School
