Ryebridge has laid down permanent roots in Southampton by opening a local office.
The company’s new premises is at New Forest Enterprise Centre, in the village of Totton, providing a workspace for office and site staff to meet up and showing our commitment to the region.
Ryebridge has been working in the area since August 2022, when we won the tender to build the Solent Rail Terminal, a joint initiative between Associated British Ports (ABP) and Solent Stevedores which expanded the existing intermodal rail transport site to offer additional laden and empty container handling, storage, maintenance, and repair.
The success of this project, the first of its type Ryebridge had worked on, led ABP to engage our services on Marchwood Phase 1, the redevelopment of the port for trading, including the construction of a vast vehicular storage hard-surface area with all kerbs, surfacing, drainage, ducts and manholes.
Additionally, the company built a new security gatehouse and entrance ready for when the site is fully operational, with Phase 1 expected to be completed in the next few weeks.
The project, which got underway in October 2023, involved the demolition of existing site buildings and off-site highway upgrades, alongside the realignment of the internal highway network and upgraded railway crossing points, and the installation of new high mast lights, site CCTV and the electrical infrastructure.
We recently completed work at Berth 35 at the Port, which involved removing parts of a suspended slab built more than a century ago and refurbishing approximately 4,000m2 of quay paving, and slot drain and concrete works at DP World.
Ryebridge’s ongoing commitment to Southampton has seen the company’s workforce grow from 10 local people and sub-contractors in 2022 to a staff of more than 50 people fully employed and drawn from the local workforce.
Recruiting first through agencies, we soon found we could pick up staff through local resources and referrals, and we have also invested in our first apprentice, training him in the operation of a forklift and dumper truck.
The company’s community engagement sponsoring the Ringwood Seals swimming club and the British Pedal Car Grand Prix, also in Ringwood, taking part in the Utilita charity golf day to help support people out of fuel and food poverty, and donating surplus materials to a local boxing gym for training equipment.
Managing director Sean Scully said: “We have always wanted to commit to a long-term future in the Southampton area and this new office is proof of that. There are a lot of exciting opportunities for a forward-thinking and engaging civil engineering company like Ryebridge in this part of the country, and we hope to be keeping very busy in the months to come.”
Ryebridge’s new offices: (L-R) design manager Matt Carter, project manager Robert Miller, managing director Sean Scully and construction manager Kevin Wilson.