The Courier & Advertiser (Fife Edition)
Explosive growth for Dundee demolition experts
It might surprise you to learn that there is an annual awards ceremony to celebrate the destructive capabilities of the global demolition industry.
And it could surprise you even more that a company from Dundee is a multiawardat the World Demolition Awards, and is considered one of the world’s leading exponents of explosive demolition.
That success has seen Safedem tackle specialist demolition projects as far afield as the US and the Middle East.
But, as evidenced by last year’s decision to hand control of the company to its employees, Safedem remains true to its Dundee roots.
Safedem was founded in 1974 by Bert Walls, who ran it for a number of years.
The company was acquired in 1994 by managing director William Sinclair who, despite being part of a demolition dynasty, came to the sector somewhat reluctantly.
He explained: “I am a fourth-generation member of a family that can trace its demolition roots back more than a century, but I initially had no intention of joining the industry.
“I obtained a master’s degree at St Andrews University before training to become an accountant. But I guess demolition is in my blood.
“And, after three years in the family firm, I branched out on my own to acquire Safedem.”
In a period of just over a decade, Safedem would go on to redraw the Scottish skyline–carrying out successful and high-profile tower block demolition projects in Glasgow, Paisley, Edinburgh and Dundee.
That success propelled Mr Sinclair to the upper echelons of the global demolition industry.
He was president of the National Federation of Demolition Contractors from 2013 to 2015 , celebrating his Scottish roots by hosting the federation’ s annual convention at Gleneagles in the first year of his presidency.
He has also held a number of other highprofile sector organisation roles.
Over the years, Safedem’s geographic market has changed.
Mr Sinclair said: “In 1995, almost 100% of all our demolition work was in Tayside and Fife, today, that region accounts for less than 10%.”
The company is currently at work on demolition projects in Sheffield, Plymouth, Torquay and London, as well as in Glasgow and Dundee.
Safedem is also now active in both the US and the Middle East, having recently established dedicated companies to serve these regions.
Amid all this, Safedem has had to contend with coronavirus and the subsequent lockdown.
Mr Sinclair said: “Even prior to Covid-19, we were predicting a downturn, but nobody could have foreseen a complete lockdown.
“As a company, we followed government guidelines – closing our sites and placing staff on furlough for a number of weeks.”
Although Safe dem’ s timely action has allowed the company to ride out the impact of the virus, Mr Sinclair has concerns for the wider industry.
“In March this year, we saw a fellow Scottish contractor close voluntarily, and we have just seen an established demolition company slip into administration,” he said.
“But the true impact of the Covid crisis is only just starting to show. I fear that we will see a significant number of demolition companies going out of business in 2021.”
It is now just over a year since Safedem became owned by its employees after Mr Sinclair chose to transfer his 100% shareholding to his team.
The demolition industry is currently facing challenging times, but Mr Sinclair is defiantly upbeat about the future for Safedem.