From Olympic Stadium catalyst to Heathrow Airport projects: Pro Steel’s aviation sector breakthrough drives facility expansion
Headquartered in Pontypool, South Wales, Pro Steel Engineering (Pro Steel) is a steel specialist company delivering high quality fabrication, project management and installation services across the UK and internationally. While proudly Welsh, the team has expanded its footprint across the UK and has ambitious growth plans.
The company was established in 2012 by business partners Richard Selby and Justin Marriott, delivering site services at the site of the Olympic Village and across London, before returning to the stadium in 2016 as part of the team undertaking transformation works to what is now known as West Ham Football Club’s stadium. At their peak, Pro Steel had over 200 operatives on site for the works, demonstrating their capability to scale up when required for major schemes.
Operations Director Haydn Roberts has watched the business evolve. He comments: “The business started as a two-person project management company in a café in East London, before adding a fabrication shop in Caldicot, South Wales and continuing the growth to our present facility in Pontypool with around 48 employees.” Pro Steel’s services include site services, project management, temporary works, bespoke steel structure fabrication and installation, focusing on developing solutions for clients by using a service-led approach from an early stage and throughout the entire process. “Our mission is to be the best service-led structural steel business in the UK, supporting our clients as a specialist contractor ensuring they’re receiving the highest level of safety, quality and programme certainty,” continues Haydn.
The company has had particular success in the aviation sector over the past two years and has consequently identified a site for new headquarters in South Wales, which it is in the process of acquiring. “We were successfully awarded our first project in Heathrow Airport around two-and-a-half years ago. The success of the Heathrow project paved the way for us to be awarded our largest project to date as a company at Manchester Airport, which was focused on Design for Manufacture and Assembly Systems (DFMAs), and the catalyst for our expansion into modular construction.
“In an airport environment, where you have limited crane time, the quicker you can install on site the better. However, to do that successfully you need more space for pre-assemblies before attending the airport. Within our new facility, coordinating contractors can attend to undertake installation of follow-on items such as cladding and carry out any mechanical or electrical works beforehand. That’s a huge benefit and a good opportunity for us in the coming years.”
Pro Steel opened its office at Heathrow in November 2025 and has a dedicated local team in place, focusing on providing a high level of service to clients, while also looking to expand into London and the surrounding areas. “Our first project in Heathrow was the Virtual Control Facility (VCF), which is the backup facility to the air traffic control tower,” Haydn notes. “We erected the steel structure and incorporated elements of DFMA in coordination with a concrete manufacturer to reduce the carbon content of the building, which is a big focus across the industry now. Following the VCF project, we have been working on control posts at Heathrow which are access points into the airport for vehicles and staff – again, they have been modularised for quick erection.” Furthermore, the group has recently won a project to facilitate the new baggage system in Terminal 2, another modular project scheduled to be fabricated in South Wales.
Staff plans
Aside from ambitious airport projects, which also includes Bristol Airport, Pro Steel is concentrating on the new facility and investing heavily in people. “We’re focusing on our shop floor staff at all levels – not just the younger apprentices but also looking at bringing more experienced employees with different skills back into the workplace.” Haydn reveals how the company is implementing development plans for staff. “Going forward, we’re providing one-to-one reviews to identify training needs and individual goals. We have employees who started in the admin team and are now completing quantity surveying degrees and construction HNCs. We’re trying to develop people through the business.” Introducing core values means the group has increased its senior leadership team to help deliver these, including roles in HR and Health & Safety. Pro Steels core values comprise of service excellence, collaboration, sustainability, integrity and accountability, continuous improvement and being a great place to work.
“Being a great place to work means different things for different people, so that can be a challenge when searching for tradespeople and management-level staff,” reflects Haydn. “This is why we’re always out in the community, telling people what we do. We generally attend local colleges and careers fairs to demonstrate what we do and showcase opportunities for skilled jobs within the area. People will often move away for jobs but we’re aiming to attract people and assist them in developing their skills so they can remain in the local area.” Pro Steel is dedicated to diversity and inclusivity, currently employing two female welders who attend school fairs to highlight equal opportunities, while charity initiatives play a huge role in the company too. “Last year, ten of us took part in the Cardiff Half Marathon as a charity fundraiser,” says Haydn. “A variety of people across site signed up – shop floor staff alongside our MD Richard – and it was a first for much of the team! We raised money for two local charities, and Richard recently returned from climbing Kilimanjaro for the King’s Trust 50-year anniversary. He’s largely involved in the King’s Trust and various other local initiatives.”
People development continues to be a priority for 2026, as Haydn describes employees being ‘a huge part of Pro Steel’s growth plan’, while its three-to-five-year vision involves implementing a sustainable growth strategy. “We want to ensure our customers are getting the service that they require, and really home in on our goal of becoming the best service-led structural steel business in the UK,” Haydn concludes. “We will build on the values we already have in place, ensuring that they flow continuously through the business, and we’ll focus on growing the team to support that – not only our existing team members but also the new team members that we’re looking to recruit. Essentially, our aspiration is to double the business in the next five years, which I strongly believe we can do. Yet, it must be sustainable growth. In the current global climate, we’re facing economic challenges surrounding steel and commodity prices – that could have a potential impact, of course, but we still see plenty of opportunities out there.”