As the year draws to a close, Thompsons is recognising staff members who reached milestones in their years of service in 2024.
Two Thompsons employees have racked up an incredible 49 years between them as part of our team.
Mark Bradford, our head of operations, joined Thompsons in its original form back in 1997 and is our longest-serving member of staff, with 27 years under his belt.
Beginning his Thompsons career as a joiner, he then became a site foreman before becoming contracts manager, and then operations manager prior to taking on his current role. You could say it’s turned into a bit of a family affair too, with Mark’s three sons, Ben, Darren and Luke now also part of our team. Darren, a project manager, has been with us for 12 years.
Transport and logistics manager Gary Swift was also part of Thompsons’ original team, joining in 2002 as a woodwork machinist. In the 22 years since, he has held the positions of bench hand joiner and yardman, before taking on his current position in 2020.
We’re also celebrating Ged Devine, head of buying, who has chalked up 12 years at Thompsons, while 2024 saw John Higginbottom, electrical director, mark 11 years and Jason Nuttall, groundworker, reach a decade as part of our team.
Ged joined Thompsons as a buyer and has overseen the growth of Thompsons’ buying department while leading our team of buyers. John joined us on a short-term contract as part of a project before being appointed as electrical manager, developing our electrical department and progressing to director, while his son Matthew has been part of our team for six years; having joined as a contracts manager and is now our operations manager and NICEIC QS.
For Jon McGrath, Thompsons’ managing director, 2024 marks 10 years at Thompsons. He began his journey with us as a quantity surveyor in 2014, and since progressed through the ranks from project manager to associate director and operations director before taking on the role of our MD in 2023.
Thompsons owner and executive director Matthew Thompson said: “Our high staff retention is a reflection of the loyalty and dedication of our team, as well as the positive workplace and employee culture we prioritise.
“In addition to our long-serving staff members, our workforce continues to expand as we welcome new members to further strengthen our team as we grow our client services.
“Congratulations and a big thank you to all staff for their contribution to Thompsons, and here’s to many more years.”
