Dave Newbold: Drywall Managing Director
When I joined Phoenix in 2019, I had one intention – to grab the job with both hands and make the most of a very exciting opportunity.
A year later, I was asked to head up the Drywall division and become a director, and I can honestly say it felt like a huge personal milestone in my career. I felt proud that someone believed in me, and I promised myself I would do my best in the new role.
Fast forward to 2022, and I could not be happier with everything that we have achieved at Phoenix.
It has been both rewarding and challenging – but most of all, it has been the best three years of my professional life.
And the Drywall division? Well, it has grown beyond measure, and I couldn’t be prouder of what the team helped to achieve.
Every single person at Phoenix needs to know how truly thankful I am to be working for a company that doesn’t know how to stand still, and loves meeting the needs of its ever-growing client base.
I promised myself that I wouldn’t crunch the numbers too much – but the Drywall division at Phoenix is celebrating huge successes. We’re now turning-over between £6-7m a year – compared to <£1m back in 2019.
I love getting out and chasing new contracts, selling the vision and multi-packages we offer. Attending intense design meetings, offering value engineering solutions, enjoying progress walk-abouts and literally everything in between.
Clients trust us. They know we can deliver not only onsite but assist in pre-construction support and building up the Drywall division has been a wonderful achievement.
Way back, when I joined Phoenix, I had no idea what the future held. Initially, I was employed as a Drywall estimator but not long later I was promoted to Director- I don’t think I have done anything particularly special, just done what has been asked, by following the strong philosophies established by Phoenix Brickwork.
I remember Christian, our group chairman, called me into his office, for ‘a talk’.
He said I was doing well, he liked how I worked and – with his arm fixed firmly around my shoulder for support – he catapulted me into the very core of Phoenix.
There have been bumps in the road along the way- large projects being pushed back, clients entering administration, and a global pandemic! But the team has done a fantastic job of coming through the other side stronger than ever.
The icing on the cake would be to clinch an award for the Drywall division – but we’re working on that too!
And something else that’s hugely exciting is recently securing one of our biggest contracts – worth circa £1.6m – on a new 188-bedroom, four-storey Premier Inn in Layerthorpe, York.
No two days are ever the same at Phoenix and I love the new challenges that being in the construction industry brings.
There’s a buzz when we win big, and watching new projects take shape is amazing.
The ethos of ‘TeamPhoenix’ comes from the very top, and I think every member of the team should be extremely proud of the part they play.
For me, the passion I feel for Phoenix will never fade and I will never stop being proud.
I’m completely invested.
