AVIEMORE-based civil and environmental engineering contractor, McGowan Environmental Engineering, has appointed Donald Forsyth as non-executive director. As well as previously chairing the Highlands & Islands branch of the Institute of Directors, Forsyth is a vastly experienced Chartered Accountant, former Partner at Saffery and EY and brings a wealth of knowledge from non-exec director roles across different sectors.
Speaking about the appointment, McGowan founder, Ross McGowan, said:
“I’m delighted to bring in Donald at a time of change at McGowan. The last six months has seen internal change as we work towards the creation of McGowan Group, which will take effect in April 2024. The new group structure will give clearer direction and focus to our work in both the Energy and Environmental sectors.
“We have ambitious growth plans and Donald will form an important part of the board and its decision making.”
Speaking about his new role, Forsyth commented:
“McGowan Group has achieved impressive growth in recent years and I am confident that it has even more significant growth potential ahead. Ross’s focus on the personal development and well-being of his team attracted me to the role and I look forward to being part of the next stage of the company’s growth journey.”
McGowan offers a diverse range of specialised civil and environmental engineering services to a wide portfolio of clients across the UK & Ireland, with dedicated infrastructure and environmental teams. In November 2022 the company delivered its largest project to date, at Moy Wind Farm, south of Inverness. The Aviemore based civil and environmental engineering contractor successfully completed the installation of over 60km of 33kV high voltage underground cable consisting of three circuits in trefoil for Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks (SSEN) Distribution at Moy. Utilising cable ploughing, open cut methods and Horizontal Directional Drilling, a huge multi-department team effort from McGowans over the last 12 months culminated with the circuits being connected to the national grid.
McGowan was awarded the Moy cabling contract by SSEN as part a £7.2m project to deliver a total of 81km of cabling across Inverness and Caithness. Due to increased windfarm yield from Moy Windfarm and the newly established Burn of Whilk windfarm in Caithness, the projects involved the installation of new 33kV single-circuit and triple-circuit underground cabling, fibre-optic cable, cross-bonding and intermediate earthing across rural and urban areas.
Vital to the timely and cost-effective delivery of the project at Moy – with minimal impact on the sensitive landscape – was the deployment of McGowan’s proprietary new cable wrapping technology, Eco Cable Protect. The innovative cable protection, provided both projects with an efficient and effective installation solution, which is set to revolutionise the rural cabling sector.
Eco Cable Protect allows for on-site preparation, production and installation, reducing project delivery times and costs whilst keeping any environmental impact in sensitive landscapes and habitats to a minimum.
