Page 17 - W M Donald Newsletter - Edition Thirteen

SUMMER 2022
17
The Perth Post
It is now just over a year since W M Donald opened the Perth office and we have already increased our office space.
David Banks (Technical Engineer) and Neil Ferry (Site Engineer) both joined the team in May. David is providing technical assistance on all work aspects, both onsite and in the office. Neil is typically site- based, helping with setting out and increasing our general engineering capacity within the region. They have both hit the ground running and are already valued members of staff.
Recent contract wins have included Dubton Farm, Brechin West for Scotia Homes. Initial works include site earthworks and all associated sewer and road works. We are also hoping to secure all substructure and plotworks for the 150 units on the site. The focus is on local employees, sub-contractors and suppliers to ensure the benefits of the works remain within the local area.
Jim Wills (Site Supervisor) and Stuart Forbes (Foreman Ganger) recently completed the Great Glen Canoe Challenge – a 60-mile paddle through the Caledonian Canal, Loch Lochy, Loch Oich and Loch Ness. The time target for the challenge was five days, but Jim and Stuart ‘smashed it’ in two. They did themselves and W M Donald proud by raising over £3,000 for Friends of Anchor and The Queens Court Hospice in Liverpool. Two very worthwhile charities. Well done lads!
STOP PRESS
W M Donald are on the cusp of winning the contract from Barratt Homes for the enabling works on the former Keiller Marmalade factory site at Mains Loan in Dundee. Barratt is looking to build 167 units on the site, with a mix of private and affordable housing.
As with all brownfield manufacturing sites, Keiller promises to throw up a fair number of interesting engineering challenges.
The site had been derelict for many years before it was finally demolished in 2018.
DID YOU KNOW?
‘Marmalade’ comes from the Portuguese word for quince!
Keiller’s Dundee Orange Marmalade was one of the first brands registered when the British Registry Act came into force in 1876.
Keiller was the first company to produce Dundee Cake on a commercial scale.
Monty Don, the TV presenter of Gardeners’ World, is a direct descendant of Janet Keiller who created the eponymous Keiller marmalade recipe in the late 18th century by adding thin strips of orange rind to the pot.