Jim Pierce begins a one-man operation in his home workshop doing light fabrication and blacksmithing. Anne Pierce begins bookkeeping, and together they build a customer base.

This was the fleet of vehicles in 1988 to accommodate 10 men. We have a 6 TE life-carry crane seen to the left and a 15Te Hydrocon Crane seen on the right, which we still have in new condition in our possession today.

The following years showed more development; a state-of-the-art punch and drill line, and later, a CNC fittings machine was installed. Material handing practices were streamlined, an inhouse design office was established, and the steel erection squads grew, then operating up to 70Te cranes.

The JDP training academy was opened to provide training on construction plant. Construction took place on the grounds; each building was insulated and clad in JDP colours. To meet a 200Te weekly production target, the paint shop was extended by 743m2. The company had reached a huge 120,000sqft footprint and a staff of 115.

Despite an unprecedented recession, the company continued to expand. A roofing and cladding division of 40 employees was established in 2011, a new paint shop opened, and a new pre-fabrication shot blaster and CNC drilling and plasma cutting line installed. By 2014, manufacturing of 500Te of quality assured CE Class 4 marked steelwork was completed weekly. An additional four cranes were purchased (2x55t and 2x100t) along with a 12t telehandler.

With the installation of a fully automatic steel processing system and a new building to house it, the facilities were connected, resulting in one fast flow fabrication factory on 35acres of land, totalling 300,000sqft. The company was now able to produce in excess of 950Te per week. A new design and build division of 15 staff opened in Scarborough to focus on the large distribution warehouse market.

Acquisition of East Kilbride’s 30,000m2 facility and relocation of Strubeam division (specialising in manufacture of bridges, cellular beams, plate girders, heavy plated fabrication, welded truss work, bespoke fabrications) vastly expanded the fabrication capacity of the company, allowing for production of over 1500Te per week.

As the company grew, directors and managers joined together to develop a modernised benefits package to support over 500 team members employed within J&D Pierce. This multi-million-pound investment aimed to prioritise staff wellbeing through a premium health benefit with additional shopping and fitness discounts and money management tools, new cycle to work scheme, enhance scaling pension scheme and death in service benefit. Further to this, improvements were made across facilities, and new reward schemes were introduced to encourage further awareness of health and safety.