Photo credit: Hartlepool Borough Council 

Congratulations to Executive Director Peter Bowes who has been officially appointed an Honorary Freeman of Hartlepool.

The title is the highest honour Hartlepool Borough Council can bestow and is awarded to those who have made “a sustained and significant contribution” to the area.

This is in recognition of Peter’s service as Deputy Lieutenant for the County Durham Lieutenancy. 

The award was presented at a special council ceremony on Monday 18th March.

Reigning undisputed world super middleweight champion Savannah Marshall will be receiving the same honour, as will Hartlepool Coastguard Rescue Team and artist George Colley.

Peter’s career with Bridgman IBC began in 1983. He moved up through the production ranks before buying the business in 2004 and becoming a joint owner with Mick Butler and Tony Phillips.

Away from Bridgman he currently serves as a Presiding Justice (JP), President of the Hartlepool Branch of the Royal British Legion, Deputy Lord-Lieutenant, an Alice House Hospice Trustee and an adult education board member.

He is a member of a number of economic, regeneration and tourism forums, and an executive member of the Longhill Business Association.

We recently caught up with Alastair, who became the newest member of our Sales Team last month, to discuss his career to date and his first few weeks at Bridgman IBC.

Please tell us about your professional development journey / career to date. 

Since graduating university it’s fair to say that my working life has varied somewhat before centring around kitchens for new build developments.

I’ve done this whilst also moving around the country a fair bit. I’m originally from a village in Hertfordshire.

My career path started by ordering and installing kitchens based at Sevenoaks, Kent, then designing, and delivering during a spell in Sidcup in Bexley. More recently I oversaw templating, supply and installation of solid surface worktops for a company in Warwick in the midlands, before relocating to Hartlepool to be closer to family.

What have been some of the most important lessons that you have learned throughout your career?

Not to take yourself too seriously, you can pick who you work for, but not who you work with, so being amiable is well worth it.

Do you have a professional success story that you’re proud of?

In my previous role leading a small two-person team, we would occasionally win awards from our customers and suppliers, which was always nice to receive.

What does your job at Bridgman IBC entail? 

As a Sales Estimator, my main responsibilities are to look over the tender/quote packs that we receive and extract the relevant information required to provide an accurate quote back to our customers for non-fire and fire rated doorsets and screens.

How have you found your first few weeks with the company?

There’s quite a few similarities from previous roles I’ve done, so that has helped me settle into my new role. But I am enjoying learning about a new product and industry.

What do you enjoy most about working here? 

My colleagues who have been welcoming and friendly. 

How do you see yourself developing in your role? 

As I become more confident in the role, I’d hope to be achieving the same goals I have accomplished in previous roles I’ve undertaken.

What techniques or tools help you to stay organised and productive?

I like to think I’m fairly organised anyway; I don’t leave paperwork on my desk as it makes me feel like there is more to do than there actually is. I hope I can bring some of the systems that I introduced elsewhere to this role and hopefully make improvements that my colleagues can benefit from.

Do you have any strategies for dealing with stress at work? 

Asking for assistance if needed is the best place to start, something quite simple to say, but I’m not always the best at taking my own advice.

What are your hobbies and interests? 

I watch and (if I can) attend Formula one races. I also have two young children, so they keep me busy most of the time. I also enjoy cooking.

Do you have an interesting fact about yourself or a secret talent that you can share with us?

More of a story than a fact or talent – I had an encounter with a Rhino whilst in South Africa …

What is the one thing you can’t live without? 

I wish it wasn’t the case, but my phone.

What’s your favourite type of food or cuisine? 

Indian and BBQ.

If you could travel anywhere, where would you go and why?

Maldives. My wife and I never truly had a proper honeymoon.

Machine Operator

Vacancy
This is a key role within the organisation and is crucial to our continued development and success. The existing team would provide relevant on the job training.

The role

• Operation of an edgebanding machine.
• Editing existing programs
• Operative maintenance processes
• Fault finding and resolution.
• Handling using mechanical aids.
• Tool selection
• Reading and understanding work sheets.
• Adherence to quality standards
• Identification of timber species.

Candidate Criteria:

If you have the following skills & or experience, you should consider applying.

• Good numeracy & literacy skillsPreferably at GCSE level
• Good communication skills
• Ability to work independently.
• Able to work as part of a team,
• The role is based in Hartlepool, you must be able to make your way to work the hours are 7:00am – 3:15pm Monday- Thursday & 7:00am – 12:00pm Friday.

Previous experience or training in timber occupations would be an advantage for the candidate.
Wage, unqualified £10.63
Wage, L2 qualified in timber occupation £11.02.
36 hours per week.
Applications to p.bowes@bridgman-ibc.com
Closing date 19th May 2023.

From 1st April our current ownership will enter the 20th year of their tenure at the helm of Bridgman IBC.

Industrial Building Components Limited (IBC) was formed in 1988 by The Expanded Metal Company primarily to manufacture standard doors for use in the supply of the CLASP partitioning systems. Doors were also supplied to the house building industry through builders merchants.

The business and its product portfolio would expand to include special doors and cubicles.

In 2001 the business was sold to the company Brand holdings who also owned Dale Joinery and other joinery manufacturers.

Unfortunately after two years, Brand holdings hit financial difficulties. Loans were called in by the banks effectively putting the group of companies into administration.

While IBC was a profitable company at that time, it was also placed into administration as a result of this.

There was limited interest in buying IBC and running it as a going concern but nothing materialised. The incumbent management team of Tony Phillips, Mick Butler and Peter Bowes put a management buyout proposal forward which was successful. 

The company Bridgman IBC was formed in April 2004. Over the past twenty years the product portfolio / mix has evolved to meet the industry sector requirements and the business has established supply chains with the likes of Kier Group, Morgan Sindall, Doorways, Laing O’Rourke, Tilbury Douglas and Equans.

Bridgman IBC is committed to a culture of sustainability and business practices that can make the company more efficient.

Significant investment has been made over recent years with the aim of drastically reducing our carbon footprint.

We are Iso14001, FSC & PEFC accredited (environmental management & forestry stewardship) and our staff have undergone educational training programmes to understand sustainability and how we can all contribute to this.

Working closely with Decerna and other local contractors in the area we have been able to log and report on potential carbon savings over the last year. 

Notable reductions to date have been made in the following areas:

• Replacing diesel forklift trucks with electric Toyota models. Enabling us not only to stop purchasing and using diesel, but also helped us reduce our energy costs as they are much more efficient and don’t need charging as much as previously thought.
• Installing a diverter valve on one of our wood dust extraction lines has enabled us to switch off a large fan set on the backshift. This has effectively cut our extraction fan usage by 33% on the shift, saving kW hours in the process.
• A variable speed compressor has been installed to replace our old fixed speed model. This enables us to fully automate and regulate our pneumatic pressures that feed all our machines and hand tools. This new compressor varies the speed of the motor depending on demand in the factory, so during quiet periods or backshift, it will slow down. This helps to save a huge amount of energy that was previously lost by the old fixed speed model, which worked at 100% all the time.
• New LED lighting throughout our manufacturing facility have replaced inefficient sodium lighting systems.
• Transitioned from gas overhead heating to a wood burning Talbot system and localised infrared systems.

Over the course of the next few years we will reaffirm our commitment to sustainability by implementing the following:

• Replacing our dust extraction plant fans with direct drive variable speed capability controlled via pressure monitoring and dampers on machines. 
• More LED lighting controls – Lux level sensors to switch lighting off inside the factory when not required.
• Conveyor lines control so they are not running when not used for a specific time period.
• Exploring new ways to reduce waste in the business with regards to pallets and offcuts.