How Thurston Group’s innovative strategies and partnerships are reshaping the construction industry 

With over 50 years of expertise in the UK market, Thurston Group (Thurston) is an industry leader in offsite modular construction. From initial concept to project completion, it excels in delivering tailored, turnkey solutions across sectors such as construction, infrastructure healthcare, education, residential, and commercial with a wide range of product offerings while ensuring a seamless and efficient experience every step of the way. Since its establishment in 1970, Thurston has continually transformed its operations and now stands as one of the UK’s most enduring and highest-performing modular construction and portable building manufacturers. Following our insightful conversation with Matt Goff, Group Managing Director last year, we have recently had the opportunity to catch up with John Pay, Sales and Marketing Director, who enlightened us on the latest developments within Thurston. 

“Over the past year, we have been fortunate to experience a sustained period of successful growth, marked by a series of investments in many areas of our business, including technology, software, and facilities. Additionally, we completed an acquisition to further enhance and strengthen our supply chain, alongside investments in our workforce, organisational expansion, and the diversification of our product portfolio. In spite of some significant challenges in the wider global market, everything has progressed relatively smoothly for us,” John opened. 

Several key factors have contributed to Thurston’s steady growth over the past year and beyond, as John highlighted. “One of the main strategies we implemented to expand our business was prioritising partnerships. We recognised that our aspirations are ambitious, and simply pursuing higher value projects did not necessarily appeal to us as we are more focused on organic and sustainable growth. Hence, now, the partnerships we are building with our key accounts and new clients are what is truly exciting to us. Thankfully, we enjoy longstanding partnerships with some significant organisations, which are evolving positively, and our client base appreciates the way that we work as an organisation.” 

Part of Thurston’s continued expansion was driven by its acquisition of Storplan, a specialist industrial manufacturing business. John explained how the organisation is planning to integrate Storplan and the benefits the process will bring about. “The integration of Storplan was somewhat natural. As a specialist industrial manufacturing business, a large volume of the components that Storplan manufactures are products that we utilise in our processes. Consequently, from our perspective, acquiring it was a fantastic move as it essentially provided us with an internal supply chain partner. In return, we can offer Storplan and its employees – who are now our colleagues – greater stability as well as additional work opportunities to empower them to develop their skills. Based in Yorkshire, Storplan is a unique business that aligns closely with ours, making the integration of its workforce into our business very straightforward. Our ultimate goal is to leverage their skill set and maximise its potential. The benefits they bring our organisation are brilliant, but we aspire to share these benefits beyond the confines of our company and within the industry as a whole, utilising the platform we have developed over our years in business to make sure that Storplan also flourishes,” he enlightened.  

 Amidst the persistent labour shortages that are posing challenges across various industries, the modular and offsite construction sectors are helping to alleviate the pressure related to workforce and sustainability issues. “From a workforce perspective, we can draw upon various reports over the years, notably the 2016 Farmer Review of the UK Construction Labour Model, which shed light on the challenges related to the labour model in the construction industry. A significant focus for our organisation has been to showcase the opportunities that offsite construction can provide to people exploring career paths. Although we are a construction company, our work extends beyond the traditional on-site aspects; it spans across our four manufacturing facilities with roles that can range from administration to director-level positions in various departments. Thus, there are opportunities available for everyone, whether they are technically minded, finance experts, or sales-oriented with a passion for interacting with people. To address labour shortages, we have been working closely with local education providers as well as seizing opportunities with institutions in other regions, given that we undertake projects all over the UK and Scotland. By doing so, we aim to educate people about who we are as a company, our offerings, and the career opportunities we provide,” John said. 

Dedicated to training 

Hand in hand with its commitment to attracting newcomers to the construction industry, Thurston nurtures a company culture centred on employee development and training. “While a strong branding, product, quality, and price point are crucial elements, what truly makes our business successful is our people. At Thurston, we operate as a family, and although the transition from being an SME to a larger entity has been significant, our focus on investing in our employees remains paramount. A couple of years ago, we made a substantial investment by enrolling around 90 percent of our office staff in different management courses. For us, this was a vital investment, irrespective of whether participants aspire to move into a management position (given that we will give everybody an opportunity to do that anyway), because it can help them in their day-to-day work with their line managers. The value we derived from this initiative extended beyond giving our workforce opportunities for career development – though that remains a key focus – to being a truly worthwhile exercise for us. Following on from that, for around a year, we have been leveraging the skills of an external consultant who was initially working with our Executive Leadership Team (ELT) to essentially enhance their performance as directors and leaders. We have progressed through Cohort 1, which comprised the ELT, and are currently in the second phase with Cohort 2, who are making substantial progress. At present, we are considering whether we should go for a Cohort 3 and assessing the impact of these initiatives on our workforce,” John concluded.  

Thurston’s relentless pursuit of innovation and commitment to people development continue to solidify its reputation in the UK modular construction industry.   

www.thurstongroup.co.uk