Our History
In 1900 Mr John W. Steele commenced trading as a small Building Company and was joined by two of his sons, Harold and Tom, as they became old enough.
In the early 1900’s things were very different to now, with all materials such as sand, cement, bricks and ballast being taken to the various sites by handcarts, sometimes involving journeys of many miles. The work was very hard with little mechanical assistance – the firm at this time was very skilled at constructing brick lined wells by hand, often to depths of around 70 feet. Most of the early work came from Farmers and other owners of large Country Houses.
The firm grew until the Second World War came when the firm was passed to the two brothers, Tom and Harold to run. Harold spent most of the war years in the Army leaving Tom to control the business.
All through the war years the firm was actively engaged in carrying out bomb damage repairs to buildings, many of which still exist today. Extensive work was carried out in connection with houses that were requisitioned by the local council to house workers drafted in, many from Ireland, to work in the three factories in Chelmsford. In addition to running the business during the war years Tom somehow found time to serve in the local police force as a special constable.
When the war came to an end and Harold returned from the Army, the firm was made into a Limited Company. At this time the Company was heavily engaged in constructing new Council houses in the Chelmsford Area.
Tom and his wife had one child, Eileen who married John Geer. John joined the Company as a Director in 1965. Tom died in 1979 and later Harold’s son, John Steele, joined the Company as a Director.
Over the 20 year period from 1965 to 1985 the Company flourished, expanded and consolidated its client base of Public Sector and larger commercial clients, but at all times resisting the urge to over expand, preferring instead for the Directors to retain a close personal link with all of the Clients and to actively manage the workforce themselves.
In 1985 John’s son, David Geer, joined the Company aged 31. David was a Chartered Civil Engineer and brought with him an additional set of skills which he used to further consolidate the Company and keep its practices ‘up to date’.
A modern Joinery Shop was set up at the premises in Great Baddow during the 90's and the fleet of vehicles updated to present a clean and tidy image for the Company. The offices have recently been expanded and modernised with the latest computer technology.
Harold Steele died in 2000 and Mr John Steele left the Company in 2001. David Geer became Managing Director in 2002 with his father John remaining as a Director. Nic Duggan joined the Company as General Manager in 2007 and was appointed a Director in 2010. The current management and administration team is as follows:
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Mr D J Geer
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Managing Director
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Mr J Geer
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Mr N Duggan
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Mrs C Geer
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Director
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Director
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Director
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Miss A Campen
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Mr G Manton
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Mr R Geer
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Finance Manager
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Estimator
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Contracts Coordinator
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Miss K Santry
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Mr C Giblin
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Miss C Geer
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Office Administrator
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Supervisor (Works)
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Administrator
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Mrs L Norrie
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Receptionist
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J W Steele and Sons Ltd has come a long way since those early days of handcarts and we are looking forward to the next 100 years!
Mr John W Steele founded the Company 110 years ago.
