Left to right is Jerry Williams – Project Director, VINCI Construction UK; Rupert Joseland, South Wales and South West Regional Director, St. Modwen; Professor Richard B Davies, Vice Chancellor, Swansea University and David Kieft, Company Director of RDM
Electrical and mechanical services company RDM has been successful in tendering for work on the £450m Bay Campus project, being built on Fabian Way by Swansea University and its development partner St. Modwen.
The company, which has been based in Swansea for 25 years, will be the main subcontractor delivering electrical and mechanical services on the student accommodation and support offices on the site, working for main contractor VINCI Construction UK.
Company Director, David Kieft, is delighted with the success and says that the £6m contract, which is design and build, will mean further employment and training opportunities for local people.
“We’re a company which employ all our staff directly and we will be looking to substantially increase our workforce next year to work on the key delivery stage of the contract. We’ve a long history of training our employees to a very high standard and we’re planning to recruit two additional apprentices through the Beyond Bricks and Mortar initiative as well as liaising with the Workways project to take on people who are currently unemployed.”
RDM has a long established reputation for its work on major projects, including the Bluestone leisure park, local schools and civic buildings as well as having won awards including achieving the Gold Standard for its delivery of contracts on MoD facilities across Wales and the borders.
“Winning this M & E contract on the Bay Campus is down to the hard work our team put in to the tendering process, starting with our attendance at one of the Meet The Buyer events earlier this year” said David.
“We’re delighted to have been able to provide strong evidence of our ability to deliver and to price the work competitively so that we were successful in our bid. It’s not just good news for RDM, but for the area as a whole as it means that the benefit of this part of the investment will stay in the area, supporting local jobs and people.”
Jerry Williams, Project Director for VINCI Construction UK said: “We are delighted to have appointed RDM Electrical, particularly because they are a Swansea-based company that came to us through the Meet The Buyer event. By working with local companies, we ensure that the community benefits from employment and training opportunities that will extend beyond the duration of the project.”
RDM’s design work on the project has already commenced and the on-going contract will run through to September 2015, when the campus is due to fully open to students from the College of Engineering and the School of Management.
Professor Iwan Davies, Pro Vice Chancellor, Swansea University, said: “The Bay Campus will be a catalyst for regeneration for the whole region. About 4,000 direct jobs will be created during the construction phase, with a further 6,000 indirect jobs supported in the wider economy as a result. It will also be an exemplar for University researchers working with industry, helping to boost the knowledge economy in Wales.”
RDM is among a number of Swansea Bay based companies which have won work on the development with many more opportunities in the pipeline for which local companies will be able to tender.
St. Modwen, the UK’s leading regeneration specialist, is developing the Bay Campus with and is carrying out the building work with its contractor VINCI Construction UK and Swansea University’s framework contractor Leadbitter, a Bouygues UK Company. Works started on site in May 2013, with full student occupation due in 2015.
