Telford team celebrates twenty years of success
A Telford design engineering firm which has lent its knowledge to some of the country’s most notable buildings is celebrating its 20th birthday.
TDS Midlands, a computer aided design (CAD) specialist for the steelwork industry, has been providing its professional consultancy, design and technical drawing expertise to a string of fabricators and construction companies across the UK, lending its knowledge to some of the country’s most recognised constructions and buildings. The ventures include projects at the Houses of Parliament, Bluewater Shopping Centre in Kent, and the world-famous ‘Gherkin’ skyscraper in London.
In the last year alone, the team has been called upon by over 100 clients, success which has seen the firm move to a larger dedicated premise in Telford Enterprise Hub, whilst it has also launched its own training initiative, The TDS Academy, to try and tackle an impending skills shortage in the design engineering sector.
Daniel Leech, Managing Director of TDS Midlands, said: “One of the aspects that gives us the most satisfaction in looking back on our 20 years in business is that much of our success can be put down to our nurturing of local talent and expertise. Twelve of our current team of fourteen are actually Telford ‘born and bred’ and many of them have been with us for a number of years. We are very proud of their contribution to some of the most nationally recognised buildings, it really is a case of Shropshire leading the way.”
The highly-skilled Telford team include James McNee, from Brookside in Telford, who began his TDS Midlands career 12 years ago as a trainee draughtsman, and through the years has progressed to become Technical Director, overseeing the day-to-running of the technical side of the business. Another long-standing employee is Karl Holden from Wellington, who has been with the company nearly 15 years, and who also began his career as a trainee draughtsman, progressing to become a CAD draughtsman, overseeing a number of high-profile projects.
The firm’s more recent Telford recruits include Marc Wootton from Hollinswood, who joined the firm as a Junior Engineer and has since progressed to become a CAD Engineer, as well as Max Price from Wellington, and similarly to Marc, has progressed to the role of CAD Engineer. It was the firm’s ongoing desire to help nurture a new generation of design engineers that saw it launch its own training initiative.
Daniel added: “The TDS Academy was launched as the construction and engineering sectors in general have suffered a real issue with skills shortages and having enough employees equipped with the necessary training and qualifications to ensure a successful future.
“Our training programme offers youngsters the chance to undertake a three-year apprenticeship where they can gain vital vocational qualifications at the same time as gaining practical work experience tackling real-life design engineering projects. It also gives employers across the sector the opportunity to develop the skills of their team for years to come. Through this initiative, and our strong roots in the Telford community, we’ve very much got our eye on the future and the next 20 years and beyond.”
