Lumsden & Carroll:
50 Years of
Civil Engineering
30th November 2020
Lumsden & Carroll is celebrating its 50th anniversary.
Lumsden & Carroll has come a long way since the company was founded by Jack Lumsden and Tony Carroll in 1970. There have been countless milestones along the way — the first green van, building a local workforce, becoming a private limited company and the merger which formed today’s Esh Group.
This week, Lumsden & Carroll celebrates 50 years in business. Head down memory lane and explore some of the key moments from the company’s journey.
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1970
Lumsden & Carroll founded
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1971
First van, a Bedford CF, purchased for £95
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1973
First office at Durham Road in Esh Winning acquired
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1975
Jack and Tony purchase their first machine, a second hand Whitlock for £2,500
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1989
Steve Wilkie, now deputy CEO, joins company from school, aged 17
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1990
Hired Brian Manning as general manager and became private limited company
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1991
Company turnover reported at £5.5 million with 83 employees
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1995
Received British Standards Institution accreditation
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1999
Merger with Deerness Fencing & Landscaping and Dunelm Homes to become Esh Group
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2000
First Esh Group turnover reported at £35million with 370 employees
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2000
Tony announces retirement with Jack following 2 years later
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2003
Office & plant yard re-location to Esh House in Bowburn
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2006
Esh Charitable Trust launched – since donated £1.3m to local causes
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2015
Esh awarded first of two BITC National Education Awards for ‘Building My Skills’ & ‘Get into STEM’
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2018
Esh Group receives Queen’s Award for Enterprise: Promoting Opportunity & Social Mobility
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2019
Civils division secures largest-ever, £35m SSTC3 contract
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2020
Lumsden & Carroll celebrates 50 year anniversary
Jack Lumsden and Tony Carroll met back in 1968, but it was in 1970 that the duo finally shook hands in a partnership deal that would go on to shape construction across the North East. An ex-colliery worker from Esh Winning and an Irishman from Tipperary, embarked on the Lumsden & Carroll journey that has gone from strength-to-strength over the last 50 years.
Throughout the week a packed news schedule will delve into the history and heritage of Lumsden & Carroll to mark the official 50th anniversary of the civil engineering company.
From the first set of accounts in 1974 publishing a turnover of £16,277.04, fast forward to the late 1990s when a deal with Michael Hogan sealed the merger of Lumsden & Carroll, Deerness Fencing & Landscaping and Dunelm Homes, when Esh Group was born.
While Jack and Tony retired by 2002, they remain on the board of directors and have watched the multimillion-pound contracts roll in. With Esh Group’s turnover surpassing £230 million and Lumsden & Carroll maintaining a healthy pipeline of work for national housebuilders, we look forward to the next 50 years.
A company that has been run for 50 years and still going strong has provided a lot of jobs and provided futures for many people, so I would say that alone is a magnificent achievement.
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