A solid foundation – Q&A with Kieran Webberley

Kieran Webberley, Sales Manager at Wernick Refurbished Buildings, started his Wernick journey as a trainee on our Graduate Training Programme.

The programme allows candidates to experience all aspects of the Wernick Group of companies whilst being mentored by Managers and Directors with decades of knowledge and expertise.

In this article, Kieran talks about his placements across the UK and how they have helped to shape his career so far.

Starting at the beginning – where has the programme taken you, and what experience did you gain?

In October 2019, I began my journey with Wernick. The first day involved travelling to the Wernick Hire Eggborough depot and meeting the team. From the get go, I felt comfortable and ready to begin my two-year graduate programme. Darren Brown – Deputy Managing Director, was my manager throughout the scheme.

The first six months involved site visits, quoting and hire desk operations. Getting to grips with the hire desk was both challenging and rewarding. Joe Duxbury was the manager then and it was fantastic to see how well he treated his customers. After these first six months I moved to Aldridge Hire to work as support to General Manager Mark Greaves. During this period, I oversaw installations at Morgan Sindall and Countryside Properties. The installations were well organised and flowed very smoothly.

Ten months had passed on my scheme, and I was then tasked with Project Managing 25 COVID-19 Test Sites. This role allowed me to carry out full site visits, with cranes, modular buildings, marquees, lighting towers, generators and much more. Chief Executive Officer Jonathan Wernick, Depot Manager Nathan McGuinness, Depot Manager Jack Turner (a Management Trainee at the time) and myself oversaw the entire operation. It was great to learn from Jonathan, and the other graduates.

After these placements, I had two smaller stints at Lochgelly Hire depot and Wernick Power Solutions. This meant that I had now worked in Hire, Power and Events. I then moved to York to start my permanent Sales Position at Wernick Refurbished Buildings.

You are now a permanent part of the team at Wernick Refurbished Buildings – what do you enjoy about your role?

Refurbished Buildings’ key strength is providing cost effective and economically friendly solutions. By recycling the steel frame, we can save on manufacture and transport costs. In addition, we can turn used modular buildings into a modern, professional building which is good as new.

The units that we design are entirely bespoke – we provide cladding options such as brick slip, Trespa and cedar wood. This is different to Wernick Hire because most of our projects are permanent and designed for long term occupation.

Adapting to customer’s needs is another critical element of Wernick Refurbished Buildings’ operations. Utilising the existing bays to meet the specific requirements enables us to provide a fantastic service. For a recent customer, we have trimmed down two modular sections to create 3m x 3m bays. This allowed us to meet a 15m x 15m footprint.

As the buildings are designed for long term, the groundworks package needs to be more permanent than standard hire solutions. This may include excavations, reduced digs and underground trenching.

I have really enjoyed providing solutions for challenging sites. One recent job required us to provide a ground investigation report of the grass. The soil was tested in a laboratory for permeability – this then altered the foundations that were required, as they needed to be sturdier.

How has your experience as a Wernick ‘graduate’ helped you in your current role?

I use the skills I learned from Joe Duxbury to ensure I provide the best possible customer service. Learning how Mark Greaves set up sites allowed me to deliver projects with little or no issues. Jonathan Wernick taught me the importance of considering every aspect of a full turnkey project. As Sales Manager at Wernick Refurbished Buildings I have used these skills to measure, price and deliver large modular projects.

Overall, I have really enjoyed the Wernick Graduate scheme. I’ve lived in Doncaster, Stafford, Wickford, Mansfield, Widnes and Dunfermline. When most of the country was at a standstill due to COVID-19, I was able to travel the UK and set up COVID-19 Test Sites. This was a real highlight of the past two years. A big thank you to Darren Brown who oversaw my Graduate Programme.