Construction & Civil Engineering Magazine Issue 216 - July 2024 | Page 90

PARTNER CONTENT
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
worldwide shipping options . Gareth joins us to reflect on the company ’ s evolution and share its latest developments , including the recent addition of rugby legend , Jonathan Davies OBE , as brand ambassador .
“ I ’ ve worked in the construction and civil engineering sector for decades now , and my first experience with bog mats occurred when I was working for National Grid on the main gas pipelines in the UK ,” Gareth opens . “ The specific job was on the largest gas line in the UK , which was a high-profile project worth over £ 1 billion .
“ As part of my role , the site manager asked me to source some high-quality bog mats . At the time , the internet was only just being developed , but I managed to create a single contact with a company in Holland . To cut a long story short , I was asked to source 15,000 mats and secured a total of 15 .”
Strong supplier network
Highlighting the extent of the UK ’ s problem with sourcing bog mats , Gareth shares how his frustration soon turned into determination . “ After thorough research , I found an abundance of stockists in North America , South America , and West Africa ,” he recalls . “ Shortly after , I was contacted by someone in Southampton who could supply us with some mats . Although he turned out to be more of a middleman than a supplier , I learned a lot from him about the product itself .
“ Next thing I know , after several conversations , I was jumping on a flight to America , then across Europe followed by West Africa , with an objective to learn
90