Roads drainage specialist secures seven-year contract with National Highways
A Wolverhampton-based business which specialises in highways drainage surveys in order to keep carriageways safe by reducing the amount of standing water on the road surface, has secured a prestigious seven-year contract with National Highways (formerly Highways England). Legal support throughout the two-stage bidding process was provided by Guy Birkett and the Commercial team at FBC Manby Bowdler in Wolverhampton.
DDC Engineering Solutions was founded in 2000 by husband and wife team Dean and Lisa Whitbrook and has grown to offer a comprehensive range of services focused on surveying the networks of drainage that sit below road surfaces. The team utilises a combination of Global Positioning System (GPS) technology and subterranean CCTV inspections which enable the identification of defects that may create potential problems needing attention.
The contract secured with National Highways will see the DDC team deliver technical survey and testing services in the south east area.
Having engaged the services of FBC Manby Bowdler over a five-year period, MD Lisa Whitbrook was in no doubt seeking their support in getting this contract over the line. She comments:
“For a relatively small company we simply don’t have the resources that larger bidders are able to commit to securing contracts with prestigious clients. Preparing the bid for these contracts is daunting and understanding the legal technicalities can be overwhelming.
“However, Guy and the team were on hand to advise, support and explain in layman’s terms what it all meant. At all times during what became a protracted process due to Covid, I felt entirely in safe hands and had absolute trust and confidence that they had my back.”
As part of the team’s success in securing the contract with National Highways, DDC has necessarily expanded its team. Two highly experienced managers have already been recruited with vacancies across further site and office-based roles being actively marketed.
Concluding, Guy Birkett said:
“DDC are undeniably the experts when it comes to the specialist drainage surveying work that they deliver. However, in a bidding process of this kind, it’s not just technical expertise that’s put to the test and being able to support a successful team such as that which Lisa and Dean have built with guidance around the legalities of the contract has been a pleasure.”