Plandescil celebrates 40th year in business

EOA40 big birthday club: Formed in 1979 Plandescil Ltd – employee owned Consulting Engineers based in Norfolk, has reached a key milestone.

Plandescil currently employs over 40 staff from at its offices in Attleborough, the majority of who have been with the business for many years. The internal culture this created an extended successful family business unit, which has thrived and prospered, and celebrating 40 years in business in 2019.

Roderic Riley started the business in 1979 and was joined in due course by sons Simon and Julian Riley with his wife Sara. The family business quickly established the Plandescil brand with a reputation to deliver quality work and on time. Managing and exceeding customer expectations has created long term relationships with clients of all sizes, locally and across the UK.

In recent years Julian, Simon and Sara made the decision to reward their loyal staff; changing the ownership structure of the business by transferring all shares into a trust for the benefit of the employees. Julian, Simon and Sara Riley continued as Senior Directors of Plandescil while six new Director positions were created with the transition making succession planning seamless whilst safeguarding the business.

The company has always had a strong emphasis on training young people long before the government’s push to encourage apprenticeships. Many of the most experienced staff have worked their way up from junior positions.

Sara Riley said: “The Rileys developed Plandescil slowly over nearly 40 years. Following the transfer to Employee Ownership in 2016, we are now taking more of a back seat and working towards retirement. We are delighted that the new directors are determined to continue the success of the company and everyone is working hard to deliver our clients expectations.”

The directors added: “On behalf of everyone at Plandescil we would like to sincerely thank the Rileys for building such a successful business and making us all part of the Plandescil family. Their support and guidance over the years has been invaluable, no more so than through our transition to becoming an employee-owned company since 2016.

“As new Directors we are honoured and excited to be passed on the baton, and we will strive to maintain the company standards and deliver on the company’s mantra of cost-effective engineering solutions. Plandescil is as only as good as its employees, and we will continue to invest in them through training, coaching and practical experience, using the most up to date technology. This 40th anniversary marks a very special occasion for us all and we would like to thank all of our old and new clients for their continued support and business”.

The company offers a range of engineering consultancy services operating within civil, structural, surveying and environmental services. Over many years they have worked on projects for many well-known household names including the RNLI, British Sugar, Holkham Hall, Aspall Cyder/Molson Coors, Banham Zoo, the Dinosaur Park and The Hoste at Burnham Market.