TriConnex celebrates its 10 year anniversary!
2019/20 Staff Meeting
2012 Staff Gathering
This April TriConnex will reach its tenth year of trading, a moment that everyone connected with the business is immensely proud of.
Having launched in 2011, the completion of our first full decade is a landmark moment. When starting a new business venture, you never quite know what the future will hold yet 10 years later TriConnex continues to build on solid foundations and go from strength to strength.
Two of the current Directors, Mick Hine and Chris Doré led the team that started it all. Their mission – a clear brief from CEO Mike Morris – to create a utilities connection business that developers could trust because it delivers connections on time, every time.
As Mick will mention, TriConnex has been successful for a variety of reasons, but the fact it started out with a heritage in construction rather than traditional utilities was a distinct advantage. TriConnex’s sister company Tamdown has been providing civil engineering services to housing developers since 1976 so the creation of a utility connections division within the Group was a logical step to take. This deep understanding of developers then shaped what TriConnex was to become; a business that simplifies utilities for developers, speaks their language and ultimately delivers what others consistently fail to do – make connections on time.
It was a steep learning curve in the early days. The ethos for the business was set on day one of the first job with Bellway Essex, that being to never lose a customer. Consequently, no two days were the same and Chris has many stories of how a hands-on approach was needed from everyone, simply to get the job done. But from our humble beginnings of just a handful of people, we’ve now grown to employ nearly 250 staff operating out of offices in Braintree, Bristol and Leicester covering the South East, South West and Midlands regions.
And the learning curve never flattened! Once established as a provider of gas and electric connections, we set about developing our next connection offer and when Self Lay Provider status was obtained, water was added to the portfolio. Welcomed by developers as a refreshing alternative to the service provided by host water companies, the number of water connections we make has increased rapidly ever since.
Since adding water, we’ve further expanded our portfolio of services with the inclusion of fibre and electric vehicle charging connections, completing a full multi-utility offer.
As an Independent Connections Provider (ICP), we’ve been relentless in the pursuit of delivering service excellence. Ultimately, we thrive on our reputation and the relationships we create with our customers. We recognise that customers can choose where to place their business, so over the years, the mission has been to make the decision to place business anywhere other than TriConnex as difficult as possible.
Of course, our success over the last ten years would not have happened without the wonderful team we have here at TriConnex. We’ve grown together and developed together, evolved by staying open to new ideas, and for sure learned from any mistakes we’ve made along the way!
And finally, none of this would have been possible without our customers being willing to give us a try, believing in us and trusting us with their connections. We’re eternally grateful, as without customers we wouldn’t be a business at all, let alone one that has successfully completed its first decade and is now looking forward to many, many more.
David Topping, Managing Director
£300m investment available for shovel ready, low carbon developments
If by selecting a low carbon solution such as Air Source Heat Pumps it triggers reinforcement to the electricity network, TriConnex can look to access funding which potentially will unlock your development.
Time is of the essence as we would need to get applications for the fund in by March 2021 so please get in touch.
Key points on the recently announced £300m scheme detailing how DNO’s will pay for reinforcement to enable low carbon projects are detailed here.
The ideal projects for this scheme would be:
Ready to go (but don’t need planning permission in place)
Already have a DNO connection offer which shows the reinforcement cost
Not have commenced (the connection offer must not have been accepted)
Be low carbon enabling
If there is no connection offer we need to prove there is limited capacity – which we can do through network modelling and analysis.
For more details and help, please do get in touch or email enquiries@triconnex.co.uk
TriConnex MD discusses Housebuilders' role in the journey to net zero in press
TriConnex Managing Director David Topping featured in this months Housebuilder Magazine Last Word feature discussing; Housebuilders’ role in the journey to net zero. Here are his insights and reflections.
We remain fully open for business
As with the first lockdown, our now well developed safety protocols will remain in place and we will continue to safely deliver the service you require from all of our departments.
Our Operations managers are available to help co-ordinate your utility needs on site and alongside all of our teams working, we have worked hard to maintain an unparalleled level of stock to ensure that your project is not impacted by material supply issues.
Our legal team will be fully operational to ensure that you don’t lose momentum on the all too critical leases, easements and wayleaves.
If you are looking at buying land our business development managers will ensure that you get the early budget advice you need.
Every utility project benefits from early sign up where the more time we have the more options we can offer through our experienced technical team.
Of course we are all looking forward to seeing each other in the flesh but until then you can rest assured that we are her for whatever you need.
Lockdown, what lockdown….
Giving back by supporting a local school
Two new pieces of play equipment have now been installed, funded by TriConnex – a Hotshot Ball game and a Spring Balance Bell. Our small contribution to date has been well-received, and we look forward to supporting the school further in the years to come.
Supporting communities where we operate is one of the many values of Nexus Infrastructure – our parent company. This has been the case over many years through the work undertaken by the Nexus Community Trust, which has sought to give something back by working with local charities.
At TriConnex we have been looking to develop local relationships where our support can make a real difference.
The first of these relationships is in Braintree, where we’ve connected with the Edith Borthwick School. A day special school, catering for children and young people with severe and complex learning difficulties, they currently have over 230 students ranging from 3 to 19 years.
Our Managing Director, David Topping and Finance Director, Dawn Hillman, met with the school’s Headmaster Dan Woodman earlier in the year following David’s chance encounter with a parent whose child attends the school. We agreed to create a plan to provide support to the school through staff volunteering projects and fundraising activities to purchase additional new play equipment for the children in the future.
To launch our support programme, we placed an order back in January to have two items of play equipment installed – a Hotshot Ball game and a Spring Balance Bell. After several Coronavirus-related delays since ordering, these were finally installed before the start of the new school year and are currently being enjoyed by the pupils.
David commented “TriConnex has grown rapidly in recent years and is now a major employer in the Braintree area. We’ve been looking for ways in which we can create stronger ties with the community in which we operate, and when I heard about the Edith Borthwick School, it seemed a perfect way to give something back. What’s amazing is that the school is on the same industrial estate as ourselves, so there’s an even closer connection than I’d initially anticipated. Despite the Coronavirus-related delays, I’m delighted that the children can now enjoy the new equipment.”
#3 - We're here to stay.
There is nothing worse than working with a business, building up that personal relationship, trust and mutual understanding of each others objectives to find out that they have been swallowed up by a big corporation.
Even worse when you have actively avoided selecting the new owners.
Unlike many other trades your utility partner is in for the duration and so at TriConnex we use our position as a key part of the Nexus Essential Infrastructure group to reassure our customers that we are here for the long haul.
#2 - Who are the experts after all?
We only ask for the absolute minimum information then do all the rest for you.
Keeping our customers moving during lockdown
Our legal team were mentioned in Junes edition of Housebuilder magazine for the fantastic work they did during lockdown making sure no developments got left behind ready for when our customers need to be certain their connections will be on time.
