Sir Robert McAlpine Interview

For our contribution to the London 2012 Olympics, we teamed up with a company that is over 140 years in the making.

Established in 1869, Sir Robert McAlpine Limited is among the UK’s leading names in the building and civil engineering sector. Having worked on projects as noteworthy as the O2 Arena and the Dorchester Hotel, this family-owned business has accumulated a wealth of experience over the years with a variety of clients across all the major market sectors and industries.

From their first project to their present day contracts, the team at Sir Robert McAlpine have maintained a reputation for holding true to their founders’ commitment to service and quality.In addition to this history of innovation, their work has adapted to meet contemporary standards on a number of awe-inspiring projects.

Among our many notable collaborations with them was one of their most impressive and eagerly anticipated endeavours to date – the London 2012 Olympic Stadium.Constructed on a 40-acre site to the southern side of the Olympic Park in Stratford, the centrepiece of the world’s greatest sporting event was assigned by the Olympic Delivery Authority, completed under budget and two months ahead of schedule.

Responsible for the design and construction of the stadium, Director of Operations Tony Aikenhead and his team got to work based on a brief from the Olympic Delivery Authority. Working closely with architects Populous, we completed a number of fitting and decorating applications throughout the stadium, including the 700 rooms that made up the west stand, which accommodated athletes, venue management, VIPs and media.

“From Lucas’ painting and decorating company through to their fit out capability, the quality that we were after was delivered by Danny and his team,” says Tony.We have also worked together on the Millennium Dome, where we were responsible for road markings to car parks, all structural steelwork in protective coating and fire protection to the underside of all the main arena seating. The project cost £400,000 to complete and also involved general emulsion work to wall areas and steelwork painting to staircases and ramps.Going even further back, we were contracted by the group to work on the now famous North Greenwich Station. The £1million project got underway for London Underground in the mid 1990s.

We were awarded the specialist coatings package for the entire development, which also included various support buildings and shaft projects in and around the local areas, spanning from Bermondsey to Canning Town. Perhaps even more rewarding than the projects themselves is the fact that we are aiding this established company by contributing to an enduring legacy that has already stood the test of time.