Chief executive officer, EMCOR Drake & Scull Group
Critchlow spent the decade after graduation from the London School of Economics working in the diesel engine manufacturing industry, reaching director level by the age of 33.
He switched fields in 1987 to construction, joining Amec as finance director for international business. "I'd been there about 18 months when they decided to develop the US as a major overseas market," he says. This meant a move to America to build a portfolio of US businesses.
Critchlow is keen to adopt the US-style proactive attitude to business. "The one thing that you notice about the Americans is that they have less fear about getting something wrong; the traditional British approach is more cautious."
As the 90s recession began to bite, acquisition money dried up. Amec concentrated on its construction management business, Morse Diesel. Critchlow oversaw divestment of Amec's other acquisitions before taking up an executive role with Morse Diesel in New York. Selling off companies wouldn't be every manager's cup of tea – it's a tough and often thankless task. But Critchlow's affable style disguises a steely will.
He returned to England in 1998. "I went to the US to help a British firm run its American portfolio and I've come back to the UK to help run an American firm's UK portfolio," he says. With this experience, Critchlow feels the relationship between Drake & Scull in the UK and EMCOR in the US has improved because he understands the differences in corporate thinking on both sides of the Atlantic.
Taking on the role of chief executive after 18 months gave Critchlow the opportunity to lead the company where he felt it should go.
Setting aside the Jubilee Line extension project, group turnover is split roughly 50:50 between engineering and facilities management. He jokes that its £150 million facilities concern is probably the best kept secret in the industry but believes this broad range of skills is the company's strength – particularly when it comes to PFI projects and life-cycle care. "We're seeing a trend where the design and build will not be kept separate from the operation and maintenance. Clients want to know that they will get the cheapest life-cycle costs rather than the cheapest construction or maintenance."
He emphasises the importance of partnering. "We're actively involved in government opportunities such as Prime Contracting and Procure 21. Both concepts which involve pulling together a team of contractors and consultants to create a virtual company to execute the project."
Critchlow sees the future for construction heavily underpinned by the public sector, with schools, hospitals and rail refurbishment being strong market sectors. "People would expect after several good years that we would now be going into recession, but if it is a recession it will be a lot slower with a longer tail. We've got an order book going forward which is the largest it's been for a decade and we are budgeting for higher numbers for 2002."
With high workloads, though, come skills shortages. "There is a total misconception of what the construction industry is all about," says Critchlow. "We need to sell the variety, the divergence of opportunities in different sizes and configurations of projects; the interpersonal nature of the business; and the satisfaction of delivering something."
Source
Building Sustainable Design
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