CURLING CONTRACTORS ARE AS BUSY AS EVER
By his own admission Jeremy Curling ‘fell into’ fencing after starting his own farm contracting business back in 1990.
Over three decades on and Jeremy can still be found out in the fields of Southern England from time to time assisting his three man contracting team.
“I tend to combine that with office work and site visits so I’m not quite as active as I was but I do love the life,” said Jeremy who operates out of Shamley Green, near Guildford in Surrey.
“When I started up in 1990 I was carrying out a wide range of agricultural services but, gradually over time, I became ever more focused on fencing.
One of my first big fencing customers was a large soft fruit farm that required thousands of metres of 6’ trellis work to support raspberry canes. As a novice, this proved pretty challenging and I learnt a lot from going in at the deep end.
“It showed me what can be achieved with hard work and fencing, quite soon, became our most important area of activity.
“Thirty years on and we now have a broad range of customers with multiple requirements. In this part of the world there is a strong emphasis on equestrian work and slightly less on pure farm fencing.
“The equestrian work accounts for around half of our workload and this includes construction of riding and polo arenas, exercise tracks and groundworks for stable facilities.
The remainder of our work is split across a variety of private and commercial clients and I consider us to be very fortunate to include a large estate in Windsor as well as the Royal Parks across London as clients.
This work could be anything from forest ride maintenance to building roads and tracks to traditional estate railing.
We have tended to steer away from construction site work and I made the decision about 10 years ago to pretty much drop all domestic fencing work. The marketplace is just too crowded.”
The business went limited 18 months ago with Jeremy as co- director along with wife Sam.
“We have three brilliant guys working out on site. I’ve always valued the importance of customers knowing exactly who they are dealing with.
We may be a small outfit but, as a result, we keep a tight control on quality and the personnel designated for each and every project. We have a lot of repeat business and customers really like knowing the people who turn up.
It gives continuity and everybody tends to have more of a stake in the job at hand.
Where possible I very much let the guys manage the jobs day to day,” added Jeremy.
Machinery also plays a big role in maintaining high standards with Jeremy and his team benefitting from a wide range of mechanical aids. “Front and centre for the fencing is a Protech-Evo 1 tracked post driver which has totally changed the way we work.
Backup is provided by our New Holland T6050 tractor with a front mounted Kinghitter.
We also operate a 7 tonne tracked excavator with tilt rotator together with 3 and 13 tonne machines with a large range of attachments including tree shears, swipes, post drivers and grapples.
My favourite though is a little 4 ton dozer I bought off eBay as a punt in 2008. We invested in machine control levelling equipment for it and now it’s key in helping us achieve accurate finishes on the riding arenas we build.”
This range of machinery has allowed Jeremy to deal with almost all of his customers’ landscaping, ground maintenance and fencing needs.
“It also helps to simplify each job we carry out and takes a lot of the physical strain out of the process which is important to keep the guys going, especially for me.
After 30 years playing in the front row my back is a bit of a mess!” said Jeremy, a former rugby player with London Scottish and nearby Cranleigh RUFC.”
The business is flat out right now with demand as high as it’s ever been although Jeremy is fully aware of a few dark clouds on the horizon.
“We have carried on working throughout the Covid pandemic and it’s difficult to express quite how proud I am of the team as well as our loyal customers and suppliers.
I recall choking up whilst talking to the guys at the start of the outbreak. Nobody knew, at that time, how this would all pan out so we have been very lucky unlike millions of others.
“We have three major issues right now that are proving to be a challenge. The first is the global supply issue which seems to be constantly shifting the goalposts in terms of costs.
“The supply chain is on its knees and I don’t foresee that changing over the coming months. We simply have to adapt as best we can to the situation. It’s down to a bit of Brexit, a lot of Covid and burgeoning demand for resources from nations like the US and China.
“We are all affected in this global economy. It all adds to the stress and complexity of working life.
“Another major issue impacting on contractors and end users is the failure of timber fence posts. Timber fencing is a unique part of the fabric of the UK countryside but far too many are failing well before their time and the rate of failure seems to be going up. Some say this is only anecdotal and others say it is rife.
“We will have to take a long hard look at the copper-organic chemicals used for treating ground contact timbers. They are simply not as effective as they used to be in certain situations.
Reputable contractors will specify exactly which species and treatment levels they require when purchasing and keep records and this can help.
We have dealt with one particular sawmill for many years and they have been really excellent working with us when problems have occurred. It does feel that we are
all trying to progress with one hand tied behind our back. Heads have been and continue to be buried in the sand in certain quarters. The AFI are determined to address this by engaging with the WPA and we all need to work closely for the benefit of everyone in this industry.
“Threats such as brown rot and copper tolerant fungi are raising their heads far too often and it’s a subject I am passionate about. Post failures affect our reputation and potentially the safety of the public. We strive to be good contractors and it is more than dispiriting when on occasions timber, the very product we champion, fails. This state of affairs makes no sense economically or environmentally and is a stain on the industry.
This problem of course is putting additional strain on the supply and demand for alternative timber products such as chestnut and pressure creosoted material.
“In addition the industry is crying out for is new blood. Finding good people, at least here in the South East of England, is a real challenge. I consider myself very lucky to have worked outdoors all my life and I encourage others to look beyond desk and office-based jobs to see what can be offered in our industry,” he concluded.
There may well be challenges ahead but you get the feeling that the passion, diligence and focus of Jeremy, Sam and the team will see them successfully through these choppy waters.
Curling Contractors Ltd 01483 894888 / 07836 356714 jeremy@jcfc.co.uk
