Renowned for its engineering excellence, Mabey Hire is dedicated to supporting and nurturing its talented workforce, while helping to inspire the next generation of engineers. As such, it is delighted to announce that it has strengthened its engineering team with the appointment of Tony O’Donnell, alongside two internal management changes.
With 35 years’ experience within the construction industry, Tony O’Donnell has been appointed as Mabey Hire’s new Engineering Director, bringing with him a wealth of knowledge, expertise and enthusiasm. Dave Holland has also taken on the role of Monitoring and Technical Director, where he will be responsible for developing the company’s monitoring offering and driving digital innovations, and Matthew Westhead has been promoted to Chief Engineer.
Having spent the last 27 years at Morgan Sindall Construction & Infrastructure, Tony will be responsible for supporting, inspiring and motivating Mabey Hire’s nationwide team of engineers. With vast experience across a range of sectors, including Highways, Rail, Aviation, Energy and Water – to name a few – Tony will also be working closely with Mabey Hire’s customers to understand their challenges.
Tony commented: “Since childhood, I have always been fascinated with how structures are built. So, as you can imagine, I am looking forward to working with Mabey Hire’s extensive engineering team to ensure they are providing our customers with expert solutions, which will help their visions become reality.
“While Mabey Hire is completely different to other companies I have worked for in the past, its business values, ambition and heritage really excites me. It’s a company that knows where it wants to be in the future, and I am proud to now be a part of that journey. Over the last 35 years, I have gained a broad understanding of the marketplace, business structures and of course, customers, while also building many relationships. As such, I believe I will be able to lead the engineering team to great successes and help join the dots to create valuable and unrivalled solutions.”
Working alongside Tony will be Dave Holland. Dave joined the Mabey Hire business 21 years ago as a Junior Engineer and then worked his way up to Engineering Director. With digital engineering and its monitoring solutions a key area of growth for Mabey Hire, a strategic decision was made to appoint Dave as the company’s new Monitoring and Technical Director. This will allow Dave to follow his passion for engineering technology and innovation. With his exceptional experience, skills and a real appetite for all things digital, Mabey Hire believes that Dave will be able to spearhead the company’s success in these areas, while also looking for new opportunities to help the business grow.
Dave commented: “I have worked across many different divisions of Mabey Hire and have enjoyed each and every role. However, my passion has always been around technology, so I have spent the last couple of years creating our monitoring department and solutions. In my new role, I not only plan on developing our monitoring solutions further, but I’ll be looking for new digital technology opportunities that we can explore as a business.
“While digital construction has been around for a while, over the next ten years, we are going to see a lot of new technological innovations emerging within industry. It’s going to be an exciting and very challenging time. Engineering and digital technology should not be looked at in isolation. Instead, they need to be considered together and it is only then when you can break boundaries and develop innovative solutions – and that’s exactly what I plan on doing.”
Matthew Westhead joined Mabey Hire as a Graduate Engineer in 2003 and is a well-respected member of the team, due to his engineering passion and drive to succeed. Having worked his way up through the ranks over the last 17 years, Matthew will be moving from his current role as Head of Regional Engineering - West to Chief Engineer in January 2021. As Chief Engineer, Matthew will become the reference point for all engineers across the business working on complex designs. He will also work directly with customers on some of Mabey Hire’s most challenging projects and will be responsible for the professional development of the company’s engineers.
Matthew commented: “I am really looking forward to being Mabey Hire’s Chief Engineer, as I will now be in a position to support all of our engineers nationwide.
“Mabey Hire is a great company to work for and it has supported me throughout my entire career. It has presented me with various opportunities to broaden my skills and knowledge as an engineer, while supporting my professional development too. In fact, four years ago I became a Chartered Engineer, thanks to the company’s support. So, with this in mind, I am particularly excited about helping our engineers progress their career within Mabey Hire, like myself, whilst also assisting them with their professional development with the Institution of Civil Engineers.”
Gordon MacDonald, Mabey Hire's CEO, concluded: "While we have been established for over 60 years, it is the talented people behind Mabey Hire that has kept us at the forefront of the temporary works industry.
"In fact, the passion, skills and experience of our engineering team is astonishing and something that I am proud of.
"With these changes, I am positive that our company will grow from strength to strength and will help us to continue to deliver the exceptional service our customers have come to expect.”
