I have realised how difficult it is to start up and continue to operate a small company within the current economic situation. The plumbing industry has been one of the hardest hit when the recession hit a few years ago and i have constantly had to chase down new contacts to gain work to keep afloat. This has been very challenging and time consuming. I personally hold the gas qualifications within the company and i am what you would say is a `Hands On Boss`. I currently hold qualifications… Show more I have realised how difficult it is to start up and continue to operate a small company within the current economic situation. The plumbing industry has been one of the hardest hit when the recession hit a few years ago and i have constantly had to chase down new contacts to gain work to keep afloat. This has been very challenging and time consuming. I personally hold the gas qualifications within the company and i am what you would say is a `Hands On Boss`. I currently hold qualifications in domestic and non domestic environments including the installation, testing and purging of gas pipework in all environments including industrial. At this time there arent many companies registered in gas testing, purging and evacuations to this scale. Show less

Working at Innerflow cetainly further developed my skills in pipefitting and welding. Here i was constantly on the road travelling the width and breadth of the country carrying out all aspects of pipe fabricating and welding work in all types of industries. The food industry was probably the more frequent area but we also worked in breweries, pharmaceutical and petro-chem industries. Most of the work carried out was done with 2 man teams and mostly just 6 - 8 week projects. There was a lot… Show more Working at Innerflow cetainly further developed my skills in pipefitting and welding. Here i was constantly on the road travelling the width and breadth of the country carrying out all aspects of pipe fabricating and welding work in all types of industries. The food industry was probably the more frequent area but we also worked in breweries, pharmaceutical and petro-chem industries. Most of the work carried out was done with 2 man teams and mostly just 6 - 8 week projects. There was a lot of industrial refrigeration installations for companies such as Ice-Tech(now Johnson Controls), Sewards Refrigeration and Crown Chem-Tec. Work for Crown Chem-Tec usually meant working abroad. I personally worked abroad in Rouen, France on a project for Barry Collebaut, a cocoa powder producing company. Working abroad isnt glorious as some people think. Its very hard work, made even harder by the fact you are away from home and in another country. All the lads i worked with at Innerflow were excellent engineers and carried out installations to the highest standards. My final trip abroad for the company was to Guyana in south america. My role here was to teach the locals the skills they needed to carry out the installation of plant and pipework, including the refrigeration plant to complete the construction of an ice cream and margerine manufacturing and packaging plant. Guyana is a British colony but definately defined as a 3rd world country. The locals werent very skilled at anything and it took several weeks to train them to weld and fabricate pipework. Out of 24 people only 2 managed to learn to weld. As we needed to manufacture stainless steel jacketed pipework, and a lot of it, then this turned out to be a problem. The time schedule for the job was very short and the locals didnt hold the skills to complete the project. Eventually more engineers came over from Innerflow and completed the project. Show less

During my employment at Knowsley Pipe i undertook all aspects of pipework fabrication ranging from 10mm metric stainless steel dairy tube up to 600mm seamless carbon steel pipework. This was carried out in all industries ranging from the food industry, brewery, petro-chem, pharmaceutical and refrigeration. I also carried out all aspects of welding including MIG, TIG, MMA and ORBITAL welding upto ASME certification. Frank and Dave (the bosses) took me on to complete my apprenticeship. It was… Show more During my employment at Knowsley Pipe i undertook all aspects of pipework fabrication ranging from 10mm metric stainless steel dairy tube up to 600mm seamless carbon steel pipework. This was carried out in all industries ranging from the food industry, brewery, petro-chem, pharmaceutical and refrigeration. I also carried out all aspects of welding including MIG, TIG, MMA and ORBITAL welding upto ASME certification. Frank and Dave (the bosses) took me on to complete my apprenticeship. It was hard working as a contractor on site for a major pharnaceutical company (Eli Lilly, Speke), with lads a lot older and more skilled but definately a challenge. This was the hop up i needed to build my career from. Very highly skilled engineers working to very high stanards that are required within the pharmaceutical industry in the UK. On site we carried out the installation of a complete de-ionised water system in stainless steel which was machine welded using Orbital Welding Machines. Although the water ringmain was nominal bore pipe all the pipework in hygeinic areas was dairy pipe polished internally and externally. All dairy pipework was fabricated with long radius dends using a Hilmor bender and fusion welded with an argon gas purge for cleanliness. Another big step in my career and development. Before leaving i had managed to become site foreman for the company. The bosses kept their faith in me and hopefully i managed to repay them with the work i carried out and the dedication i gave them whilst in their employ. I worked in Mannheim, Germany on a project for Lever Brothers alongside Frank and 4 other lads. We installed a dry powder conveyancing system designed by a company from Woking, UK called NEU Engineering. All work was at height and we installed large bore, thick wall carbon steel pipework. This was my 1st job out of the country and one of my best memories. I learnt to work as part of a team whilst carrying out individual tasks for completing projects. Show less