About Us
Henry Williams and Son (Roads) Ltd has been a family-owned business for five generations, with a history in road construction and highway maintenance stretching back as far as the 1860’s. Our pride in the company’s history along with our widespread experience, innovative approach, and personal commitment, ensures we provide our clients with the highest standard of products, services, and support.
We have bespoke and sustainable solutions that can solve new-build and maintenance challenges for all parts of infrastructure and the road network, helping to create better places to live and work.
An efficient UK road network is vital in supporting the UK economy. It plays a crucial role in moving people and goods, and the consequence of not having a well-maintained network will adversely affect economic performance.
Good highway asset management relies on embracing all different types of maintenance techniques and surface treatments, and innovation is at the forefront of how we approach and deliver this.
Effective maintenance is not just about treating roads or infrastructure in poor condition, it involves keeping them in better condition, and in a good state for longer, by applying the right solution at the right time, in the asset management life cycle.
Cost effective and sustainable maintenance solutions for all your infrastructure, not just part of it.
We are trusted by local highways authorities, NHS Trusts, facilities management contractors, building contractors, civil engineering contractors, landscape contractors, schools, universities and colleges, private landowners, the Canal & River Trust, and the National Trust to deliver a high-quality product, on time and on budget.
Our Founder: Henry Williams
A major in the Royal Engineers, was called to build and maintain supply lines behind the trenches during the First World War. Putting to use the knowledge and skills he had gained whilst serving in the military, he returned to own and operate a number of quarries within North Wales and Shropshire. Eventually, this led to the creation of the surfacing arm of the company which was responsible for the construction of many army camps and airfields throughout the Second World War.
Moving into the 21st century, the business remains a family-owned limited company employing a workforce of up to 50 employees. Based in North Wales (Wrexham).
Business continues to grow as we refresh our brand and share what we do through our new website.
What else should you know About Us?
Over the previous 15 years, we have strived to develop our quality management systems. We have held ISO9001 accreditation since 2005 and NHSS13 accreditations of highway surface dressing for 4 years. We are pleased to have been awarded health & safety accreditation ISO18001 in 2015.
The Future, Our Priorities…
Research and development (R&D) is essential for the past and future success of our company and we welcome the opportunity to combine our future R&D with like-minded industry colleagues.
We continuously seek to develop our develop our products and services in line with current technological, environmental and industry developments. We are pleased to have increased our capabilities in shallow depth carriageway and footway recycling (Retread) along with targeted surface dressing and asphalt preservation. These innovative services have provided our clients with successful alternatives to the more traditional infrastructure and surfacing solutions used.
Years Experience
Business Areas
Accreditations & Memberships
Henry Williams & Son (Roads) Limited are proud to hold a number of accreditations and are members of some of the industry’s leading organisations.
Collaboration
A Collaborative Approach During our 160-year history, we have built long-standing relationships with our supply chain partners and clients that are built on our open, honest and ‘work with’ approach to doing business. We embrace the principles of ISO 44001 in relation to driving organisational mindset and culture toward collaboration with a structured approach to sharing resources, experience and skills supported by a method for creating and delivering successful relationships. We also welcome the opportunity to develop new relationships with business partners with a like-minded approach, especially where that involves new ideas that bring benefit to our sector. For example, we have recently been working with ASI Solutions Limited to not only apply its surface preservation treatment to carriageways, as others do, but also to take this solution to footways. “ASI were looking to expand our reach in the Local Authority market and identified Henry Williams as an ideal partner. Henry Williams has a long history and proven track record as a competent contractor able to spray and apply bituminous products in the road maintenance market. They have also invested heavily in purchasing the specialised equipment necessary to apply ASI’s Rhinophalt product as we look to grow the Asphalt Preservation market in the UK”. Dr Howard Robinson, MD, ASI Solutions.We are also currently working with Heusker Products to develop and bring to market a Stress Absorbent Membrane Interface (SAMI) which is extensively used in the USA and Australia and, when combined with surface dressings, can provide an increased tensile strength an alternative to plane and patch approach.
During recent Project Amber Works, we found ourselves working within the same geographical area as Highways Workforce (HW). We found that by sealing HW’s thermal patches with a targeted surface dressing we were able to provide an improved lifespan.
The two companies were introduced through Project Amber and we both recognised the symbiotic nature of both processes when combined. Whilst there was no contractual relationship between the two parties, we were keen to work together and prove the effectiveness of the results and methods of working with the client. The programme of works was agreed upon at a site level between the contract’s supervisors, and we completed both elements of the trial within a week. Some areas were not treated to provide a comparison in performance.
We also have a long history in collaborating with our clients, for example, the 1990’s emergence of the NRSWA resulted in changing working practices from temporary reinstatements to first-time reinstatements. We worked with Welsh Water to develop a first time backfilling and reinstatement policy and procedure and cleared up their backlog of temporary reinstatements over the following two years.
Our People
“You are only as good as your staff and workforce…”
Each of our operatives and road surfacing engineers are highly experienced, accredited by CSCS and NPORS training schemes to ensure the efficient completion of all road surfacing contracts to the strictest of standards.
Employees have successfully obtained RSTA endorsed CSCS cards as required by Sector Scheme 13, and which includes NVQ 2 Roadbuilding (Construction).
Our management have attended the RSTA’s professional training advanced surface dressing course. The course covered the recent changes to RN39, updates to the ADEPT Code of practice for Signing at Surface Dressing sites, changes to specifications and standards, and new innovations such as crack sealing, asphalt preservations and SAMI’s.
We are committed to the ongoing development of our workforce.
As the 5th generation of Williams to join the family business, Stephen worked in the surface dressing gangs after leaving school and cut his teeth as a junior engineer with Pochins and site engineer with Alfred McAlpine before joining the company as contracts manager at the age of 23.
Over the following 30 years he has gained valuable experience on the civil engineering and infrastructure contracts, running up to 10 NRSWA reinstatement gangs in the 1990s, overseeing the surface dressing and Retread contracts division for the past 15 years and developing new company activities including Retread, Target Dressing and most recently Asphalt Preservation Treatments.
Sean has been in the civil engineering industry for 36 years, having started as a site engineer in 1985 and progressing through various operational management roles, before holding senior director positions from 2009 onwards. Throughout his career, he has worked for various Tier 1 and large Tier 2 contractors including, amongst others, John Laing Civil Engineering, Birse Civils and Buckingham Group Contracting. Sean has an extensive technical knowledge of major highways, public realm, flood alleviation, coastal, remediation, tunnelling and rail.
Although he has led major projects and large teams, on behalf of main contractors, for many years, he has always respected and admired good quality subcontractors and suppliers, who he has built collaborative working relationships with. He believes they are the ‘backbone of the industry’. It is this belief which led Sean to join the company in July 2019, and he is passionate and committed to increase the capability of such a well-respected and established, family-owned SME. As managing director, Sean is responsible for all aspects of running the company and achieving future, sustainable growth.”
David has been involved in the construction industry from 2001 serving time as a site engineer before progressing to site agent involved in the production of large scale schemes such as marinas, windfarms, highways, a new automotive race track and landfill engineering builds.
In 2009 David joined the family company when the opportunity arose to manage the Civil Engineering and Infrastructure Department at Henry Williams. David’s experience has helped develop the Civils team who are constantly expanding within the industry year on year.
Sue has worked in Finance for over 30 years, primarily in manufacturing, but with some years in practice. Her previous job was for a multi-million pound Japanese car parts manufacturer, responsible for maintaining supply chain, and cash flow.
She joined Henry Williams in 2013, her first experience in the Construction sector. Since then, amongst others, she has overseen the implementation of new finance software, and the introduction of the company pension scheme.
Jon joined the British Army in 1995 and served in the Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers. He deployed on operations all around the world including Kosovo, Northern Ireland, Iraq and Afghanistan.
After finally leaving the service after 24 years he decided he needed to start working for a living! On completion of his colour service, he joined Arriva Traincare as their Quality compliance officer within an extremely busy Health and Safety department. Jon joined Henry Williams in March 2021 as the SHEQ manager and is responsible for all matters concerning health, safety, welfare, quality and environmental.
Berwyn joined the company at the age of 18 after a short period as a brick layer and labourer. Employed as a general site labourer he quickly moved up the ranks gaining experience as an asphalt ‘rakeman’ in the early 1990s. With the emergence of the NRSWA in 1991, he was soon qualified to NRSWA operative and then supervisor level managing up to 10 reinstatement gangs on cable TV, water and gas industry.
Berwyn has supervised and managed the surface dressing division since 2010. He was instrumental in the expansion of the company’s Retread shallow depth recycling process and has been vital in the company’s move into asphalt preservation. He remains focused on the research and development of new techniques and approaches to highway maintenance.
Paul started fencing at the age of 17 for a local Cheshire fencing company. He was soon promoted to contract supervisor and was managing his own fencing division by the age of 22.
Paul joined Henry Williams in 2009 and was instrumental in the creation and subsequent expansion of the company’s new fencing division. His wealth of technical knowledge and expertise has provided clients and main contractors with the necessary reliability and assurance in the end product and service.
Jake joined the company in 2014 having successfully completed a diploma in company administration at Wrexham University.
Originally employed as an accounts assistant Jake role was soon expanded to include the administration of vehicle maintenance, 6 weekly inspections, annual spray-bar calibrations and MOT servicing scheduling. In 2019 Jake was promoted to contract administrator for the bond coating and vertical joint sealing contracts and is responsible for the successful day-to-day programming of resources to meet customer demands in this sector.
What our clients say
“Henry Williams and Son carried out specialist retread services to Tarmac on the Warwickshire/Solihull/Coventry Maintenance framework contract… an integral part of the delivery team and provided expertise, and guidance throughout, to ensure the successful delivery of over 100,000m2 of retread work… The teams were found to be knowledgeable, safe, flexible and competent in their specialist technique providing regular updates to ensure programme delivery.’ Ewart Birkett, General Manager of Tarmac Midlands”