Teamwork is key to the ongoing growth of MR Industrial Services – and it’s fair to say that the Corby firm’s latest addition will help continue with that.
The company has rapidly gained a reputation for its professional approach and expertise since it was founded in 2015 by Managing Director Matthew Ross.
Almost six years on, MR Industrial Services has grown significantly and is going through another growth span, and the firm is currently in the process of implementing an integrated management system that is being led by former professional footballer David Bell, who joined the business in April.
David, who has taken on the role of Health and Safety Director, explained:
“The IMS will bring together a quality, environmental and occupational health and safety management system and integrate them all. I am excited to be a part of it and looking forward to working with the rest of the senior management team on successful delivery of the system.
“We want to be a contractor that our clients can trust to deliver on time to the highest standard without deviation from quality or safety. When you speak to companies that are UKAS accredited it gives you a peace of mind that as a business you do things the right way. The process to become UKAS accredited is one that does not come easy, however, the vision for the business is that this is the next step, and we will work together as a collective to achieve this.”
For David, joining MR Industrial Services is a key milestone in his new life away from football, the game from which he retired through injury at just 29. He’d begun his professional career on leaving school at 16, playing 450 league games, including winning the league with Rushden and Diamonds in his first full season. He went on to play for Leicester City, Norwich City, Coventry City, Luton Town and Notts County, as well as taking part in a World Youth Cup for the republic of Ireland before he suddenly found himself at the end of his career due to injury, at this point there was no Plan B.
“I’d been told when I was 15 that I would be a professional footballer, and that was it for me in terms of education, I lost interest,” said David. “All I knew was that I would be a footballer, and I just gave up on lessons, leaving me with nothing to fall back on when my career ended.
“I went from playing against Liverpool at Anfield in one of my last professional games, lining up against the likes of Steven Gerrard, Phil Coutinho and Raheem Sterling, to labouring on a construction site in the same calendar year. That was a very difficult transition, I had a house and a family to support so it was a case of needs must. I had to re-educate myself whilst gaining knowledge out in the field.”
Since then, David has trained on the job to gain Nebosh qualifications that took him from labourer to supervisor to health and safety advisor, health and safety consultant to health and safety manager, and now on to his new role as Health and Safety Director.
“I am excited about my new role and working Matthew, Ant and the team. The directors here are extremely driven and ambitious, and I am looking forward to playing a small part in that,” he said.
Over the past five or six years, MR Industrial Services has invested in property, equipment, and training, including its 20,000 square foot manufacturing facility and offices in Brunel Road in Corby.
It is now one of the UK’s largest structural, secondary and architectural steel suppliers, rapidly gaining a reputation for its professional approach, tenacity, and expertise. This has led to exceptional growth and re-investment within the company ensuring key positions have been filled and all opportunities to maximise capacity have been fulfilled. MR Industrial Services is known for going over and above for clients and its Midlands base is the ideal location to service a UK-wide client base.
Numbering over 70 personnel, the team includes four apprentices as MR Industrial Services invests in the future of the business.
David Bell added:
“We have a large team and a busy manufacturing plant, so it was becoming increasingly important to ensure the highest levels of health and safety procedures and I’m delighted to have this opportunity.
“I am proud of my football career, but I am also really proud of what I have done since retiring. I have worked incredibly hard, from labouring on that construction site to where I am today, and that shows that you can do anything and be anything you want to be if you apply yourself right work hard.
“So many people have supported me over the past few years, and now I have a great opportunity to move forward with an exciting, growing company.”
Managing Director Matthew Ross said:
“It is a very exciting time for our business. Our size and reputation have grown simultaneously and the relationships we have built throughout the UK over the last six years have been fantastic. This has been due to a lot of hard work, planning and team work, it is very exciting to bring David in to the business. I have followed David and his career since we were both young lads playing against each other in the Weetabix youth league.
“I have also followed how far David has come in the second chapter of his life within health and safety it was his drive, passion and interpersonal skills that played a big factor in why we brought him in to the business.”
Business Development Director, Ant Nelson, added:
“Having David join our team signals the next steps we as a business are taking. David matches the passion, desire, and enthusiasm that Matthew and I have for the business and the industry as a whole. We look forward to seeing where David will take our HSEQ department.”
Find out more about MR Industrial Services by calling 01536 204510 or email info@mrindustrialservices.co.uk.
