Established in 1992, the Lanes Group now employs well over a thousand staff, has a UK-wide network of 23 depots plus specialist operating divisions, and is firmly established at the very pinnacle of its industry.
This stellar achievement has not happened by accident. The rise of Lanes — with its ubiquitous and eye-catching pink fleet regularly spotted on our highways and byways — to the heady heights of the UK’s largest independent supplier of specialist drainage services has been a carefully orchestrated and deliberate strategy by the management team.
The board have set Lanes up as a leader in drainage technologies, and embraced the wider use of information technology to give clients the best possible experience. And those customers cover the broadest spectrum, from householders to multi-million pound waste water network services contracts; commercial; rail; highways and more.
And such has been the dedication, innovation and pioneering spirit of the Lanes’ mission, that the company has succeeded in every direction it has taken, thanks to a solid foundation which combines technical knowledge with the most advanced technology, along with exceptional focus on customer service and health and safety standards — both acknowledged throughout the industry.
The Group’s commercial success has gone hand in hand with its standing as an employer too, and for which it is equally highly regarded. With branches right across the country, and career opportunities at every level and within each sphere of operation, Lanes resolutely targets people for whom success is a vital part of the employment jigsaw: graduates, for instance, who may not have contemplated stepping onto the rung of a services/construction outfit, should think again. The award-winning Lanes Group is practically blue chip in its field.
Lanes is an organisation where investment in people is high. And Lanes believes in giving everyone the right tools for the job. Training programmes, both for practical purposes and so that team members gain meaningful qualifications and accreditations is part of that process. And it works. The company has recently established the UK’s first City & Guilds drainage course, and is currently rolling it out across the depot network. Alan Wallis, Operations director, says it is all about creating a culture of excellence: “This is an important element of a structured skills and career path for our engineers, with a strong focus on customer service and health and safety, as well as drainage skills,” he says, adding, “We are doing this because we want people to have a career with Lanes, not just a job.”
