Tony Gee & Partners

With offices on the eighth floor of International House in Ashford, consulting structural, civil and geotechnical engineers Tony Gee & Partners has broad horizons in more ways than one.

Tony Gee & Partners provides specialist engineering consultancy services to the construction industry worldwide, exemplified by their work on a variety of major projects from the London Eye to Hong Kong International Airport and the Dubai Mall.

Named in this year’s Sunday Times 100 Best Companies to Work For list, Tony Gee & Partners is an owner-managed business founded in 1974. Ashford – the fastest growing town between London and Continental Europe – is one of seven offices in the UK while the company also has a presence in Hong Kong, Abu Dhabi, Malaysia, Australia, Mongolia, Singapore, South Korea and Vietnam.

Justin Ryan, Regional Director, Tony Gee & Partners, said: “We are a multidisciplinary and multinational company, renowned for providing high calibre engineering design solutions, with a particular flair for the unique and challenging.

“Our 30-strong Ashford team has particular strength in the rail and marine sectors. So when a severe storm brought down part of the Dover sea wall in December 2015, undermining the coastal rail track, we had the expertise to help get the Dover to London high speed rail route back up and running.

Working with Costain on behalf of Network Rail, Tony Gee & Partners were called in to design the repairs, incorporating a new 235-metre long concrete viaduct, rock armour revetment, a sea spray protection wall, a new culvert and a fibre reinforced polymer footbridge.

Conscious that the work needed to be completed as quickly as possible, while remaining sustainable and value for money, the Ashford team rose to the challenge. They delivered a design to re-open the railway in just nine months, three months ahead of schedule, for which they received a special award of appreciation from Network Rail and Southeastern trains.

Tony Gee & Partners were uniquely placed to deliver the Dover project, having won construction industry awards and been personally congratulated by the then Prime Minister David Cameron for their work on the re-opening of the Dawlish to Teignmouth railway line and sea cliffs following major storm damage in 2014.

“After the success of the Dawlish Sea Wall project, we were able to bring our expertise to this challenge in Dover,” Justin added.

“Our design team worked alongside Costain and Network Rail, often late into the evenings, to understand the problem and cause of the failure and then develop the right solution.

Ashford’s situation, transport links and growth potential made it an ideal location for the business, he added.

The company, which enjoys Investors in People Gold Status, recruits world-class engineers from the UK and abroad and develops new talent through apprenticeships and a graduate training scheme.

“Potential staff are increasingly mindful of quality of life, flexible working, travel and living costs. Ashford allows employers and staff to live and work in a predominantly rural area, while enjoying good transport links within Kent and high speed links to London and the Continent,” Justin said.

“We can often reach clients in Central London quicker than our competitors in the London suburbs but we don’t face the costs associated with being in the capital.”