Our managing director Robert Boast started work as a quantity surveyor in 1967 – fifty five years ago.
Other than the hairstyles, there have been some big changes over the last half century. The most obvious are the technological advances. These are just a few of the things that Rob remembers about working in the 1970’s:
- We didn’t have computers, everything was handwritten or typed by a secretary.
- There was no email and it was before the advent of fax machines – letters were sent by post and you had to wait for a response to come back by post.
- We didn’t have calculators, if you couldn’t do mental arithmetic you had to rely on a slide rule or book of logarithms!
- There were no mobile phones, when you were out on a site visit or away from the office and needed to contact someone you had to find a phone box.
During his career Rob has built up a wealth of specialist knowledge. He has worked on many projects across the UK and Europe, and back in the 1970’s worked in Cypress and Iran (the first photo was taken at his desk in Iran).
Over the years he has been involved in the construction and refurbishment of many different buildings, from schools and hospitals to hotels. In more recent years most of his work has been with residential properties from new build to heritage homes.
Rob says that if he had to choose one project as a favourite, the one that stands out is the new build chapel on a private estate costing approximately £15million. The chapel was constructed of marble with opulent embellishments, it was a totally unique project working with first class artisan craftsmen.
