Learn about CMB Engineering’s impactful ‘no-grief’ approach to contracting
With over 30 years of experience, CMB Engineering (CMB) has developed into a thriving enterprise that has delivered dozens of projects across Wales and the UK. Celebrated for its innovative collaborative approach to contracting, the company’s services range from mechanical and electrical engineering (M&E) to contract management, maintenance and everything in between. With a constantly expanding team boasting a wide array of skills and talents, CMB is always looking to branch out and diversify the scope of services it offers and the industries it can accommodate. John Green, who serves as Operations Director, shares exclusive insights into the company’s evolution from its inception to the present day.
“Our Founder, Steve Borley, established the company with his wife, Christine, in 1992. Over the last 30 years, we have grown from turning over circa £100,000 in our early days to around £100 million this year. We are a very locally focused and family-oriented enterprise, with many of Steve’s nephews and brothers, as well as his son working here with us. As a building services contractor specialising in M&E engineering, our services revolve around air conditioning, heating, lighting, small power, and other related areas for the construction industry. Not only do we operate as a subcontractor for principal contractors that include the likes of Wilmot Dixon, but we also work as a main contractor ourselves,” he enlightens. 
Career progression
Recognised as one of the top 200 companies in South Wales, CMB has earned its position through years of dedication to fostering a highly skilled workforce. “We employ a significant number of people for our size, with nearly 200 staff members across the group. Honouring Steve’s ethos of ‘train and retain,’ we are dedicated to training a substantial portion of our own people by taking on numerous apprentices each year and empowering them to progress through the ranks of our organisation,” says John.
“For example, Steve’s nephew, Rob, began his career with us as an on-site craft apprentice 25 years ago and has since become one of our directors. We spend a lot of time and effort on training, aiming to develop the skills of our apprentices, promote them within our organisation, and make them more suitable for the industry they will be entering, which is how we differentiate ourselves. Currently, we are involved in our most technically challenging project to date, and it is being led by five individuals who all started working at CMB as apprentices, highlighting their successful career progression.
“Additionally, we have invested in the creation of our own training academy for apprentices, setting us further apart from typical M&E contractors. Indeed, while many of our competitors send their apprentices to college, we have essentially established our own school. As part of this, every week, we set aside two days for one of our own seasoned and highly talented tradesmen to teach our apprentices different skills that go beyond what they learn in college. Upon finishing their training, our apprentices are much better qualified and experienced for their future careers in the industry than if they received a college education alone.
“Our ranking among the top 200 companies in South Wales can also be attributed to the fact that we do not operate like a typically commercially ruthless company. We like to work with our supply chain and principal contractor, and we operate under what we call internally a ‘no-grief’ approach. Rather than being entirely focused on costs and making profits, we prioritise completing our job and deliver on our commitments. This collaborative approach has helped us gain repeat business and maintain strong relationships with our key clients,” he goes on.
John tells us more about CMB’s flagship ‘no-grief’ approach. “Unlike many of our competitors and industry peers who manage their projects in a very contractual manner, we adopt a more collaborative approach. Our view is that we and our supply chain partners are all working towards successfully delivering the same project together. Therefore, we do not follow an adversarial approach and instead strive to work as a team and try to share and resolve any problems together, including with our clients, rather than to foster a blame culture. In other words, our ‘no-grief’ approach means that we work collaboratively with our subcontractors, suppliers, and our clients to be of value to our common programme,” he informs.
Illustrating the advantages of CMB’s collaborative approach, John discusses the company’s involvement in the building of the BBC’s headquarters in Cardiff. “Rightacres, Cardiff’s largest developer, has a long standing relationship with us and also was the developer for this project. It is worth noting that Rightacres has developed the entire city centre of Cardiff. Paul McCarthy, the company’s CEO, approached us during the concept stage to work together as partners and produce a budget for the scheme. Over several years, we collaborated with Paul to reach a stage where the design was agreed upon and signed off. Subsequently, we were appointed as a subcontractor by a major player, who served as the main contractor for the project, alongside our partner Evans Electrical.
“Our contribution to the project began with delivering the base build for the BBC, which involved completing all the infrastructure work. We then undertook a fit out for another company called Overbury, which consisted of handling all the finer points, such as the recording studios and editing suites for the BBC’s radio and TV activities. I believe the final budget for the project’s M&E aspects totalled about £20 million. The resulting headquarters for the BBC in Wales are housed in one of the UK’s most resilient buildings because it is broadcast critical. Thus, if there is any national crisis, like if all power were lost in South Wales, the BBC would still be able to broadcast to the nation. Overall, it was an extremely complex project, but we were able to complete it on time and to budget,” he emphasises.
Thanks to its highly trained workforce and collaborative approach, CMB Engineering is well-equipped to execute the most complex projects across a variety of sectors.