Mark Jones Retires after 11 Years Service

Last week we said a fond farewell to Mark Jones, one of our Senior Structural Engineers, after 11 years of working at Eastwood & Partners (and many more years within the industry).

As well as being a seasoned Structural Engineer, Mark is also a founding member of The Barlow Red Barrows a group who perform at numerous carnivals and country shows throughout Derbyshire during the summer months. They have just completed their fifth year and have performed this year by popular demand at Tideswell, Bakewell, Hope Show, Birchover, Hartington and Turnditch.

Each year they raise money for local charities and this year they are supporting Nenna Kind in Chesterfield, a charity who provides cancer support care and free transport for patients and relatives from Chesterfield to Weston Park Hospital in Sheffield.

Mark asked not for a retirement gift, but for monetary contributions to The Red Barrows, which, when added to the funds already raised, are likely to exceed £5000 this year – a lovely gesture. The company presented him with a bottle of champagne, a donation to put towards the charity and a group photo to remember us by.

Our Managing Director, Phil Richardson said in his farewell speech, “Mark has been a wonderful and integral part of the Eastwood’s team and will be greatly missed. Enjoy your retirement, Mark - you deserve it”

Welcome! Starting their careers at Eastwood & Partners…

With over 45 years’ experience, Eastwood & Partners have successfully home-grown a number of outstanding Engineers, with many of our previous Graduates now Directors. We are therefore excited to welcome our newest intake of Graduates and Apprentices. We hope to watch them grow and develop both personally and within their teams. Here is a bit more about them...

Tom (Engineering Technician):

“I completed my A-Levels in Maths, Physics and Product Design this summer at Meadowhead Sixth Form. I am now undertaking a degree level apprenticeship in Civil Engineering through Leeds Beckett University. I hope to train to be an Engineer in five years through one day a week release to University. I have been at Eastwood & Partners for two months now and have been involved in lots of different projects.”

Scott (Graduate):

“Following a three month undergraduate placement with Eastwood & Partners in 2017, I was successfully offered a Graduate role. I completed my MEng in Civil Engineering at The University of Sheffield this summer and I have now joined Eastwood & Partners as a Graduate Structural Engineer. Since joining, I have been involved in a wide variety of projects, including housing developments, timber framed offices and a range of steel framed buildings. These have been invaluable in helping me gain experience across various sectors of the field.”

Luke (Graduate):

“I graduated from the University of Birmingham with a BSc in Geology this summer. I have now joined Eastwood & Partners as a Graduate Geotechnical and Geo-Environmental Engineer and have been in the role for a month. I have been involved in a range of different projects since starting, including desk studies and intrusive ground investigations.”

Congratulations – Gaining Qualifications…

Congratulations to several Eastwood & Partners’ Engineers who have recently achieved Chartered Engineer (CEng) status with the Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE) and the Institution of Structural Engineers (IStructE). We have been pleased to congratulate (and reward!) three members of staff in 2018 and have a number more Engineers on the right path to achieve their CEng status in 2019. Congratulations also to a number of our Technicians who have received EngTech status through the Institution of Civil Engineers.

A huge ‘Well Done’ to everyone for their hard work in achieving these fantastic professional qualifications. We are proud to continue to provide and support all those on their professional journeys.

Eastwood & Partners' Macmillan Coffee Morning

Our Sheffield office looked like an episode of the Great British Bake Off on the 28th September when the company took part in the world’s biggest coffee morning to raise money for Macmillan Cancer Support. The coffee morning was arranged by two of our Graduate Engineers and everyone got to show off their talents for baking (and nipping to M&S) whilst raising money for a great cause. Overall, a total of £750 was raised for the wonderful charity, with Eastwood’s matching the employee donations. We think that Paul and Prue would be proud!

Eastwood & Partners host a Summer Family BBQ

Everyone had a great time enjoying the last of the summer sunshine at the Company’s Family BBQ. Staff helped cook and prepare a fine spread of food and there were games and a bouncy castle to keep the children entertained (although seemingly enjoyed more by the adults!) . A lovely day was had by all, and nobody went home hungry!