Aarsleff’s Piling Manager Steve Gilbank Celebrates 25th Business Anniversary

Aarsleff’s Piling Manager Steve Gilbank celebrates his 25-year career working for Aarsleff.  We checked in with Steve to ask a few questions…

 

Hi Steve. First of all, congratulations! How did you come to work for Aarsleff?

“I was interested in becoming a site engineer. I started out working for a housing developer and then moved to another house builder who had an office in Cementation’s plant yard, based in Doncaster. Seeing the different rigs & cranes going in & out stirred my interest in piling. I saw a job advertised to become a contracts engineer for a newly started piling company Norwest Holst Soil Engineering. I stayed at Norwest  6-7 years, before eventually starting my career with Aarsleff”.

Reminiscing about when he first joined the company, Steve added:

I was the 13th person to start with the company. Back then we were working from portacabins in Newark, and the whole company turnover was basically the same as what our Specialist Retaining Walls team currently turn over as one department now”

How have recent years been with Aarsleff?

“In the latest era when Kevin Hague joined the company (Joined as Piling Manager in 2014 and appointed Managing Director in 2018), the business transformed significantly and reached new levels. Aarsleff is a forward-thinking company and continues to focus on developing their teams and processes. I am pleased that I have stayed to see so many positive changes”

What have you enjoyed the most during your 25 years?

“It’s down to the people – if I didn’t like the people I wouldn’t hang around. A few of us have been here for years and a few have even left then come back. It is the people who make it happen, and if you do not get on with the people, then you are in the wrong job. I think we are a close-knit collaborative group of people.

 

A leading UK ground engineering specialist, focusing on multi-discipline excellence and value engineering. We design and deliver some of the UK’s largest ground engineering projects.

Our vision is to bring confidence to those constructing the landscape of tomorrow .

1947. Central Jutland, Denmark. Per Aarsleff borrowed 10,000 Danish Kroner from his father’s life insurance, bought an excavator, and founded Northern Europe’s leading contracting company.

Our biggest asset, our team is composed of the leading experts in ground engineering. Working with collaboration and cohesion at the core of our business, we can guarantee a quick and founded answer to all your questions.

We recruit and reward our people based on our ‘Step into the Blue’ company culture, where we embrace the core values of Life and Health, Trust, and Responsibility.

We do everything to ensure our team and yours work safely on our sites. With our core value of Life & Health, we see safety as a cultural pillar.

Our ISO accreditations are an assurance to you that we take governance seriously. Read our policies to discover more.

The projects that keep society running. Bridges, buildings, transit and rail facilities, embankment support, marine and offshore facilities, mines, airports, and water projects.

Keeping things turning. Sewage Treatment Works, Waste Water Treatment Works, Wind Farms and Wind Turbines, Biomass Plants, and Power stations.

Meeting society’s needs. Nursing and care homes, MOD buildings, Schools and Universities, and small or large-sized residential developments.

Staying on the move. Remediation, bridges, and foundation work are integral to keeping the industry running smoothly.

The landscape of the marketplace. Mega-retail sheds, distribution warehouses, University accommodation, and major supermarket and household name units.

Keeping things afloat. Ports and harbours, coastal defences, river embankments and inland waterways.

Technically trained estimators and a dedicated, in-house design team means we consider value-engineering at every stage of your project.

More than just a model, Visual Design & Construction is a tool to encourage collaboration and improve quality across all facets of a scheme.

From large commercial sheds to small residential plots, piling could be the foundation solution you need to support your project.

Issues around collapse, slipping or erosion? Our experts in retaining solutions have a broad portfolio of techniques designed to fix even the most nuanced of sites.

Tricky ground conditions or requirements? Aarsleff’s ground engineering team work on stabilisation through a varied range of techniques, bespoke to the properties of your site ground.

Our plant workshop offers a range of services designed to ensure your plant works for you. Whether it’s manufacturing and fabrication of equipment for long-term needs or hire so you can complete something specific.