EIC Midlands Contract Hat Trick
Building services specialist EIC has won a hat trick of new mechanical and electrical installation projects worth in excess of £1m. The Warwickshire-based firm has secured three new contracts for its Midlands M&E team over the coming months, with clients in three different sectors.
Demonstrating the versatility of the EIC team and the diversity of the company's client base, the latest contracts cover the health, education and research sectors. The largest of the three is a £550,000 contract for Kier Moss, at the extraordinary circular Diamond Light Source facility in Oxfordshire.
The 179m-diameter machine acts as a series of super-microscopes, enabling scientists to study objects to incredible detail on a molecular and atomic level. A new external laboratory is being constructed as an extension to the existing main building and EIC is responsible for the full M&E service installation to the new lab.
The second project is a £434,000 scheme at Aston University in conjunction with main contractor O'Brien Construction which began in September and is due for completion in April 2010. EIC will undertake the first phase infrastructure upgrade works including the installation of mains cold water, fire hydrant mains, district heating, and various alterations to existing services. Coordination of the works to minimise disruption to users will be key to the success of this project.
The Midlands team is also undertaking a third contract at Nuffield Hospital in Cambridge. The three-month project, due to finish in December, will see the upgrading of heating and hot water plant in the existing hospital building. Key for EIC engineers will be to minimise the impact of the works upon the staff and patients who will occupy the building throughout.
Ian Lyall, joint managing director of EIC, said: "EIC has almost 40 years experience of the design and installation of mechanical and electrical services and in that time has built a client base which spans a range of sectors. The current market demands that firms take a broad view and spread their risk. We have been able to do that simply by building upon existing client relationships across different industries, allowing us to respond to dips in one area with a concerted push in another.
"We have also responded to the downturn by working with our customers to make the most of their spend, cutting cost where necessary, and by focusing on developing longer term relationships and maintaining the level of service they expect of us, and their clients expect from them.
"We have increased our offering to provide a more comprehensive, through-the-line service to our clients. Contractors who can work with their customers in this way are better placed to ride the economic storm."