Today marks the end of an era for the Scotch Partners team. 10 years ago, Steve Hodkinson was instrumental in the creation of Scotch and as a founding Partner, along with Steve Campbell, Chris Carter and Neal Simmonds, he has built the business to what it is today. After 47 years in the Industry, Steve has made the decision to retire from his position as a Partner. We took the opportunity to speak to Steve and asked him to share some of his memories with us:
You have spent a long time working in the construction industry Steve, what would you say has been your biggest achievement?
My career started in 1975 when, following university, I joined Oscar Faber consulting engineers. I had a great 36 years with Oscar Faber/Faber Maunsell/AECOM eventually becoming the Managing Director of the Building Engineering business. To lead such a prestigious organisation was, I suppose, quite an achievement but the success of the business was down to the expertise of our people.
Do you have a favourite project that you have worked on?
It’s really difficult to highlight one particular project but one of the most exciting times was following the deregulation of the financial markets in the City of London in the mid 80’s. The demand for buildings with high capacity and resilient mechanical and electrical systems soared. We worked on many challenging buildings, some new, but several still maintaining the heritage of the City of London. We worked on several new developments in Canary Wharf where there was a huge expansion providing buildings specifically designed for the financial sector.
You would have seen some changes in the industry throughout your career, what would you say has been the biggest?
For me, the biggest change has been the increasingly important role of the MEPH consultant in the construction process, now incorporating energy, sustainability and other technical disciplines. Of course, those of us working as MEPH engineers always knew this, but to have the recognition within the industry is a big change. The essential changes to the regulatory and planning requirements have driven this change.
Just over 10 years ago you made the decision it was time for something new and so along with some others you founded Scotch Partners – how do you feel that it has now reached its 10 year milestone?
To have had one career and then at the age of 60 start another was really exiting! When Steve, Chris, Neal and myself started Scotch we wanted to be very hands-on with projects. Our desire was to work closely with clients, project managers and design teams. Our success has been driven by this approach and it’s truly wonderful to see the business flourishing. It’s also wonderful to see the next generation of partners; Kirsten Elder, James Quiggin, Sam Brooker and Walter Stevens taking Scotch forward with the same values.
Any other highlights that you would like to share with us?
I love the way Scotch has developed with a strong balance of projects and really clever and diverse people providing the highest level of expertise to our clients and their project teams. The future is very bright.
You have made the decision that it is the right time for you to retire now – so what is next for you? What do you have planned for your time?
My plan at the moment is not to have a plan – I’m looking forward to some ‘white space’ in my diary for the next few months. Jane and I have lots of things we want to do – I’m sure life will still be quite busy.
Steve will retire as a Partner but will remain as a Consultant for a limited period to ensure the smooth completion of certain projects.