William King Construction has been awarded a long-term contract by the Programme and Project Partners (PPP) at Sellafield.
The Cleator Moor-based business was founded by William King and his wife Lisa in 2008, specialising in civil construction.
The firm will support PPP over the next 16 years on key decommissioning projects at the Sellafield site.
The firm becomes the latest SME to benefit from PPP’s SME Matchmaker Service and secure a long-term contract to support Sir Robert McAlpine on delivering KDP8 – Groundworks and Concrete (Civils), a project worth up to £12 million.
William King Construction will also be commencing work on the SRP project, worth approximately £4 million – the business’ largest project to date and a major boost for the local economy.
After diversifying their services to support high hazard reduction in the nuclear industry, William King Construction has been building a strong reputation within the sector, having already won several other major contracts at Sellafield.
The long-term contracts will enable William King Construction to continue investment into future talent in the local area, through an apprenticeship scheme and providing more employment opportunities.
The firm now plans to expand their current training offer and has created a new The Brick Trainer – an innovative brick training station that can be easily transported to classrooms to give young people an insight into a career in construction.
John Rossiter, PPP’s head of supply chain, said: “SMEs like William King Construction are vital for PPP to deliver both world class infrastructure and support tangible outcomes and benefits for the West Cumbrian community.
“I’m delighted that William King Construction is the next SME to secure a long-term framework with PPP, which will help support its future growth and expansion. We’re proud to have businesses like William King Construction and entrepreneurs like Will in our supply chain and we’re excited to see the business and its commitments to West Cumbria continue to flourish.”
William King said: “Securing long-term contracts and frameworks within the PPP portfolio of work enables us to continue to grow our business and keep up our momentum of employing local people, from apprentices to professionals.
“Our involvement with PPP and the longevity this brings will only help us to further increase our offering to the local area over the coming years.
“We currently have six former apprentices working on PPP projects, which demonstrates that our approach works. The natural progression from apprentice, to tradesperson, supervisor, then beyond in to engineering and management roles is very real, and we can offer all of this at William King Construction.
“We will continue to carry the West Cumbrian flag by employing local people and empowering homegrown talent, whilst retaining the core elements upon which our business is built.”
