TriConnex Business Development Team get caked in mud for our community
Last week the Business Development Team here at TriConnex spent a muddy day volunteering at a local Play & Resource centre. The charity provides recreation facilities and respite care for children and young adults.
The team got together and spent a day in the charity’s outdoor area, helping to improve their garden facility by tidying it up, planting flowers, jet washing the paving slabs and making it look refreshed.
After enjoying the first volunteering session so much, they decided to return to the charity for a second day, helping to paint their main indoor space.
Tom Barker, Business Development Manager commented “What a fantastic muddy day it was! Well done to everyone involved, I know we all really enjoyed it.”
Commercial Team Volunteer at Local Nature Reserve
As part of our volunteering scheme, employees can take up to 5 working days paid per year, to dedicate their time to support a charity, institution, or community group, by volunteering their time.
Six Members of our Commercial team recently completed a full day volunteering at Marshall Park in Braintree, Essex, helping members of the council to tidy up the nature reserve.
The volunteering project was arranged through Braintree District Council, but the volunteering is collated and organised by ‘The Friends of Hoppit Mead LNR’, a charitable organisation.
The team was collecting litter from around the nature reserve as well as destroying weeds and taking part in the organisation’s annual ‘Balsam Bashing’.
‘Balsam Bashing’ is the process of destroying the Balsam weeds that grow along the riverbank. The team had to pull the Balsam out from the ground and stamp on the roots. These plants can grow up to 6ft tall and are a threat to other plants, as well as damaging habitats along banks and riversides. Our group removed huge amounts of the plant from the riverbank, so it was a successful day.
Well done to Anna Pringle, Millie Bauckham, Jess Pooley, Ellie Ivey, Josh Aylward and Ricky Clark for volunteering your time and helping the local community with this project.
TriConnex & EO Charging to offer fully integrated EV charging for new build residential housing
Helping developers respond to changes in building regulations and demand for off-plot charging
TriConnex has announced the launch of a residential electric vehicle (EV) charging product in partnership with EO Charging.
Our comprehensive residential EV charging solution will meet current and future requirements with industry leading technology, offering the supply, design and connection of EV chargers between 7kW to 350kW, depending on the size and scale of a developer’s project.
As part of the UK government’s aim to further incentivise UK drivers to choose an electric vehicle, it has signalled a change in building regulations to ensure a charge point is installed on every home with parking. The proposed changes would require developers to provide active charging provision in all new build residential developments. This would mean additional costs, operational challenges with regards to the management of charging points, and the requirement to select a solution that is reliable and complies with new regulations.
Whilst it is easy to fit a charging point to a single dwelling, there are inevitable complexities in shared developments or spaces such as with billing, maintenance and repairs of the equipment. TriConnex’ partnership with EO Charging resolves this by installing smart equipment that is market leading and can distinguish the cars and energy used each time for smart billing as well as providing unparalleled customer care and service should there be any issues. It is the first independent multi-utility provider to include a full EV supply and installation proposal within its quotations.
EO designs and manufactures industry-leading EV chargers and supplies hardware-agnostic cloud-based charge-point management software. Their products include the smallest smart fast chargers for individual homes, as well as larger units for charging in communal and public parking areas.
Benefits for developers
Meeting the growing customer demand for electric vehicle charging can increase the value of residential developments. As an independent residential specialist, TriConnex supports and advises developers on the extra capacity required to provide household and shared EV charging facilities. Through its partnership with EO Charging it now offers a fully inclusive product that also provides an innovative lifetime adoption option for long-term ownership and management of off-plot, shared and community chargers, removing this burden from management companies. Ensuring that the network capacity precisely matches the predicted charging demand provides certainty, both with regards to cost and delivery. TriConnex only specifies compliant, reliable equipment that offers homeowners the best experience.
On-plot EV charging can now be achieved with no increase in electrical loading, saving money and time through reduction in the number and size of cables required on site. Considering the current high prices of primary materials, such as aluminium and copper, that’s the right choice for both the environment and developers’ budgets.
Given the complexity of the technology and how rapidly it is evolving, the TriConnex team invests extensively in researching and creating products that help developers meet shifting planning and regulatory requirements and growing customer demands for EV chargers. This involves working closely with government, technical and industry organisations such as the Home Builders Federation (HBF) and developers. As a result, TriConnex is constantly reshaping its proposition, not just to meet the imminent building regulations, but also planning ahead for future technological developments and electricity demands.
Tackling inequity
Electric vehicles are cheaper to run and operate than petrol or diesel cars, even for drivers on a low income. But ease of use is just as important as affordability. Unfortunately, 62 per cent of households in British cities and urban areas don’t have their own parking space or garage. These EV owners have to charge at a charging station, or at the side of the road.
TriConnex’ new offering will deal with this problem in new build residential developments. Building regulations mandate chargers on plot, beyond which it’s a lottery of what the planners will be asking for on behalf of the occupiers.
Chris Doré, Business Development Director at TriConnex Ltd, said: “As the transition to electric vehicles gathers momentum, we expect to see an increasing demand for reliable, competitively priced charging installations from EV owners who don’t have access to on-plot parking. By providing a full range of residential EV charging solutions we want to add value to our customers’ developments and enable drivers to switch to electric vehicles.”
Charlie Jardine, CEO at EO Charging, said: “The majority of electric vehicle drivers find it easiest to charge their vehicles at home, and overnight when electricity is often cheaper. By analysing where domestic vehicles spend the most dwell time, often at home, it’s clear that investment needs to be made in both private and public charging infrastructure to support the green revolution. With the Government set to mandate chargers in all new developments, this partnership is ahead of the curve in helping to deliver this service for residents who want to embrace the EV revolution now.”
Virgin Media added to TriConnex fibre broadband offering
We are pleased to announce that Virgin Media is now available through our fibre broadband solution.
Our teams will install fibre for both Virgin Media and Open Fibre Networks Limited across shared infrastructure.
This approach and the recent technical and design upgrades to in-plot equipment will reduce housebuilders and developers street furniture and groundworks costs.
With 1GB ready fibre networks being a must-have for new homeowners, we support housebuilders by installing fibre solutions that offer customers an extensive choice of phone and broadband providers and ensure that there is no digital exclusion on developments.
Our solution also allows us to guarantee the connections on time, as we control the entire process in-house; design, installation and connection.
TriConnex’ fibre connections bring a fully integrated multi-utility design and delivery service, which includes a huge range of providers, including Virgin Media and Sky, available on day one.
TriConnex continues supporting Edith Borthwick special day school
Before
After
As a major employer in the Braintree area, at TriConnex we recognise and support opportunities to give something back to the communities in which we operate.
In recent years we’re delighted to have developed a strong relationship with the Edith Borthwick special day school in Braintree, which has led to TriConnex supporting various improvement projects at the school.
In 2020 TriConnex purchased items of new playground equipment, which learners at the school are very much enjoying. Now, TriConnex has drawn on the construction expertise within the business to build a new pathway.
This new pathway connects the main playground area to some of the most popular pieces of play equipment. Before the construction of the path, learners needed to walk across the grass – fine in the summer months but muddy and difficult for wheelchair users at other times of the year. Now the learners can enjoy simpler and safer access to play equipment like the trampolines!
David Topping, Managing Director of TriConnex, said:
“Once again we’re delighted to support the Edith Borthwick school with the construction of a new pathway. We knew that access to some of the most popular play equipment could be difficult in certain weathers, so I’m really pleased that TriConnex has been able to help”.
Vicky Faulks, chairperson of the Friends of Edith Borthwick commented:
“We are enormously grateful to our wonderful friends at TriConnex, their ongoing support for our school is incredibly valuable to us. Regular use of the play equipment enables our learners to get exercise and fresh air, regulate their sensory needs, build social development into their recreation, and most of all have FUN!
The new pathway will make a massive difference enabling safe and easy access all year round, in particular for those who have mobility challenges. We very much hope to continue to develop our relationship with TriConnex into the future. On behalf of everyone at Edith Borthwick School, thank you!“
£10k Charity donation following 10 million steps challenge
With TriConnex celebrating its 10th anniversary this month we planned a few activities to mark the occasion.
One such event was the “Power of 10”, a challenge for the business to collectively accumulate 10 million steps over a 10 day period, which if achieved would result in the business making a £10,000 donation to charity.
Monday the 26th April was judgement day, with the 10 day period having ended on Sunday the 25th. And after lagging behind the necessary run-rate (or walk-rate!) earlier in the week, a determination to achieve the 10 million target coupled with glorious spring weather over the final weekend meant the teams were inspired. The final result? Nearly 11 million steps being completed in total – 10,939,674 to be precise.
So well done to everyone who took part and we’ll now make the £10,000 donation to charity. The “Power of 10” is clearly a powerful force!
David Topping, Managing Director
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….