James Bullock celebrates 40 years at ConSpare
Concrete batching plant equipment and spare parts supplier, ConSpare, recently celebrated the 40th anniversary of its CEO, James Bullock, in a major milestone for the Sutton-in-Ashfield based family business.
Having initially joined the company as a sales administrator in 1984, James later took over from his father, Jim Bullock, as managing director of the firm in 1995. Having held the position for 28 years, James led the company to a record-breaking £10 million turnover in his final year as MD, before transitioning to CEO in 2023.
As a longstanding contributor to and expert within the industry, James has been an active member of the executive committee of the Materials Handling Engineers Association (MHEA) since 2015, and has been president of the Association for the last two years.
In celebration of the significant anniversary, James reflects on four decades of hard work, the changes he’s observed within the business and the concrete industry, and the trends that will impact the future of concrete batching plants around the UK.
James said: “Celebrating 40 years at ConSpare is quite a surreal moment for me, I can’t quite believe I’ve been working here for over four decades. That’s a long time and I‘ve witnessed a lot of change over the years, but I still love what I do and am as enthusiastic as when I first joined the business.”
“One of the key strengths of our business has been just how well my brother David and I have worked together for so many years. Right from the outset, we had very complimentary skill sets and have made a great team. With support from our sister Alison, and subsequently my son Tom who joined us eight years ago as the third generation, this has been a real family affair. We all recognise the huge amount of hard work and dedication that our 45-strong team has put in, plus our close working relationships with longstanding industry partners and supporters, who’ve all contributed so much to our company’s growth and long history.”
“When I first sat in the sales office in 1984, I joined a team of 3 full time staff and we turned over £400,000. Back then, there were no computers, mobile phones, GPS and so many of the other things we take for granted these days, it was a very different world running a business. Customers would call us up to report breakdowns or problems with the plant, looking for spares or a technical solution to get the plant back up and running quickly. Although we’ve grown a lot since those days and added many new products and site services to our range, we still provide that essential service to the industry to this day.”
“Building on the foundations laid by my father, we’ve gone on to introduce innovative products which have had a positive impact on the industry. I’m proud of our contribution to have helped improve safety, productivity and working conditions on so many sites nationally. We’ve also played a role in supporting most of the biggest infrastructure projects ever undertaken in the UK.”
James continued: “One of the most significant changes at ConSpare that I have seen was the strategic shift in mindset from breakdown fixer to process improver. We realised the value in our vast experience which we learned whilst solving plant problems over so many decades. Rather than focussing on fixing breakdowns after they happened, our team became more proactive in helping customers find plant bottlenecks and providing equipment and smart maintenance solutions to optimise plant performance before they broke down, and our slogan ‘Make it better’ was born.”
“Within the last couple of years, we’ve seen real change in the industry as our customers focus on reducing environmental impact and using better plant design to improve the day-to-day working conditions of site staff. We are well placed to help in both of these areas based on our understanding of the concrete production process, and that’s why I’ve transitioned to CEO so that we can push ahead and help make the industry better in new ways.”
ConSpare recently launched its second white paper, which examines the direct link between batch plant performance and the wellbeing of site staff. This built on the firm’s previous report that demonstrated the significant amount of CO2 that could be cut by improving the performance of concrete batching plant equipment – helping to reduce raw materials required, power usage and maintenance interventions.
Having taken over as managing director in the recent restructure, David Bullock also celebrates a year of leading operations at ConSpare, with additional responsibilities having been distributed to company directors Tom Bullock, Steven Wing and Darren Kershaw.
“As the industry embraces all aspects of ESG and looks to decarbonise further, huge change is needed to help the government and industry achieve its ambitious net zero targets by 2050”, said James. “With all of our expertise and experience built over so many decades, I am confident that ConSpare can remain a voice for innovation and best practice for the 2,000 batching plants in UK for generations to come.”
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