Tasked with taking the department to even greater heights are engineering duo Akil Jasm as head of engineering design and Steven Taylor as head of engineering innovation.

Akil Jasm is a Chartered Engineer and has a BSC and an MSC in Civil Engineering, with a particular skill set in geotechnics and structures. He has been with Groundforce for a total of 17 years, initially as major projects designer, and has witnessed Groundforce Shorco’s engineering team grow to over 30 engineers.

He is responsible for overseeing technical strategy, project delivery and team performance, leading five engineering teams for both the UK and Europe. His passion lies with mentoring and managing young engineers, and in building their knowledge and skill set to be able to produce designs, so Groundforce system in-depth knowledge is essential to his philosophy.

He said: “There are two important aspects in this new role. The first is leading five very different teams with diverse knowledge, experience and skill sets, each requiring a unique approach.

“The second is in embracing technology, digitisation and automation, while adhering to core engineering principals and not losing the human side of nurturing engineers. I aim to inspire, develop and mentor engineers to excel in the field and develop our work to the next level.”

Steven Taylor started his journey with Groundforce Shorco as part of his industrial placement year on his MEng Civil & Structural Engineering degree. He has now been with the company for a total of eight years, most recently as commercial export manager.

In his new role, he is responsible for coordinating product development, asset management, and sales and digitisation teams to accelerate product development and design automation.

Steven said: “By aligning these departments, my goal is to optimise resource use, improve pipeline management, accelerate product development and design automation, and ultimately enhance the service we provide to both internal and external stakeholders.

“One of the key challenges, and opportunities, will be aligning these teams to a shared departmental strategy, whilst also supporting the broader objectives of the Vp group.”

Director of engineering, Oliver Smith, said: “Both Akil and Steven bring complementary strengths that will take Groundforce Engineering into its next phase of growth.

“Akil’s technical leadership and deep understanding of our design teams will ensure we continue to deliver excellence across the UK and Europe, while Steven’s strategic focus on innovation, digitisation, and product development will help us push the boundaries of what’s possible.

“Together, they’ll strengthen our capability and keep Groundforce at the forefront of engineering innovation.”