Gloucester-based Barnwood Limited has strengthened its Construction division with the appointment of three new directors.

Paul Fowles has been made construction director, Will Steel commercial director and Dylan Hill estimating director.

Barnwood, which was established in 1962, has three separate divisions - Construction, Shopfitting & Interiors and General Works - with Simon Carey overall group CEO.

With 215 employees, Barnwood's turnover last year was approximately £103m with the construction division contributing just over £75m through projects ranging from £5m to £20m.

Recent projects in Gloucestershire have included a new Veterinary Nursing and Technical Skills Centre at Hartpury University; a European headquarters for Spectrum Medical at Staverton; and Great Oldbury Community Centre - consisting of a new community hall, changing rooms and a playground area.

Barnwood has been appointed and is currently in pre-construction stage for a new sports hall and all-weather pitches at Pittville School in Cheltenham, with works underway at a children's services facility Southfields in Stroud, and new facilities for Renishaw in Wotton under Edge.

Barnwood has also carried out projects further afield, including those at Milton Park Oxfordshire, Bird World in Farnham, Miskin, Bridgend and Bristol Airport.

Construction director Paul Fowles, 52, previously worked for a local contractor for 27 years, working his way up through the ranks, before moving to Barnwood five years ago.

Paul said: "Barnwood is as close to a family-run firm as possible, just with everybody's friendly and accommodating nature and how the employees all work together. You can see that was instilled 63 years ago and it still is now.

"The development of younger members of staff is important. We've got three trainee site managers now who we can train and develop within and can bring them on a journey. The reputation we have is the strength of Barnwood and our approach to clients and customers is, I think, something that sets us apart from some other people."

Commercial director Will Steel, 36, also worked for a local contractor previously, moving from assistant to senior quantity surveyor, joining Barnwood five years ago.

Will said: "What is key is the way that we deal with sub-contractors and clients. It's a friendly approach and I think it's the way that you should deal with people. There's been two occasions recently when clients have asked us to do something quite tricky and they said this is why we choose you because we're flexible and work with them to get the job done which is really great to hear.

Will added: "As new directors, our aim is to keep progressing on where the previous directors have taken the company - we owe it to them and to the founders. After all, they have built a company with a fantastic reputation that looks after its staff and their customers, and it's one of the main reasons we retain both over such a long period of time."

Estimating director Dylan Hill, 53, has worked at Barnwood for 19 years, joining the company from Southwest Joinery.

Dylan said: "I started here as an estimator and just worked my way up. Over the past 63 years the variety and complexity of projects may have changed but the company's core ethos has remained the same."

He added: "We're just caretakers of the company and ready to take it forward for the next generation. That's why all of us are passionate to keep up with the latest trends within the construction industry. It's important that we develop talent from within the company and grow and build the next generation of young construction workers."

In a joint statement Stuart Pearce and Dave Piper, joint managing directors, Construction Division, said: "We are delighted to welcome Will, Dylan and Paul to the board of directors to continue the ethos of Barnwood which was set in stone 63 years ago. We are especially pleased that their talent has been nurtured from within the group, and we wish them every success in their new roles."

For more information on Barnwood, call 01452 614124, email enquiries@barnwood.co.uk or visit barnwood.co.uk.