Review of the Year 2016

MJ Abbott had an extremely busy year in 2016 across all aspects of the business. It was our busiest ever calendar year and 2016/17 is shaping up to be our record financial year.

Our golf construction division saw continued growth, with many projects completed, the highlights being the following:

• The Grove - Secondary drainage to fairways, construction of a short game practice green and renovation of 19 bunkers in preparation for the British Masters;
• Les Aisses Golf, France - Construction of a dedicated short game practice area including a large practice green, chipping green, practice bunker and contoured surrounds for shot variety, along with upgrades to the irrigation system;
• Sunningdale Golf Club - Renovation of the very tough uphill par 3, 4th Green to improve pinnable area by stripping and contouring. Green 3 was also drained with minimal disruption with both greens back in play in 2 weeks;
• Wentworth Club - Major overhaul of the West Course over a period of 6 months, comprising construction of 5 new greens and surrounds, all 19 greens resurfaced, renovation of 68 bunkers, 4 new tee complexes, replacement timber ditch lining and the installation of SubAir undersoil ventilation and moisture removal system to all greens including a metered mains power supply network with 4,500 linear metres of trenched power cable and 7 connections to the grid;
• Adare Manor, Ireland - Installation of the primary drainage system and a new Toro irrigation system during reconstruction of the golf course by Atlantic Golf under the supervision of Fazio Design;
• Golf at Goodwood, Effingham Golf Club and The Royal Automobile Club - Bunker reconstruction projects under the supervision of Mackenzie & Ebert; and
• Vidauban Golf Club, France - Installation of additional drainage and irrigation enhancements following the renovation last year.

Our sports construction division completed another phase of major pitch renovations at Chelsea Football Club's Cobham training ground, providing a further 4 SIS-Grass hybrid reinforced training pitches, along with a natural turf training pitch renovation at Paris St Germain's training ground in Paris.

Our landscaping division completed another major country park construction for leading developers Berkeley Homes at Bracknell in Berkshire.

Our local civils and sewage division completed many projects ranging from the installation of new sewage treatment plants for single private dwellings to a large BioBubble treatment plant for a new brush manufacturing factory in West Wiltshire.

Our new drains business continued to grow, adding a third drains engineer to the team and launching a dedicated website for drains and emergency plumbing services.

And finally, last but not least, our sales division continued to support the local building and drainage industry and our loyal golf and sports customers, as well as developing the market for Funke HS Pipe and associated products, for which we have the exclusive UK distribution rights.

All in all it has been a fantastic year, and we look forward to providing excellent service to all our customers in 2017.