Ian Gatenby takes the lead at Testal

Testal, the specialist technical services division of Balfour Beatty Ground Engineering (BBGE) has appointed BBGE Director and environmental expert, Ian Gatenby to head up the business.


Ian will help Testal deliver on its strategy for growth by strengthening the business’ foothold in construction professional services and by extending its portfolio which currently includes pile testing, structural monitoring, noise and vibration monitoring and diagnostic testing.

In addition to his appointment at Testal, Ian will continue to lead and develop Balfour Beatty GeoEnvironmental, BBGE’s environmental and land remediation services business.

This dual role will enable him to develop opportunities with Testal which combine the full-service and environmental expertise of Balfour Beatty GeoEnvironmental with the site data acquisition and analysis capabilities of Testal.

The first joint offering planned is an end-to-end monitoring and remediation service to evaluate and address environmental impacts such as noise and vibration, plus air, soil and water quality on site.

Ian Gatenby comments, “It is vital that clients assess environmental risks at an early stage if they are to reduce impacts and control costs.

I will be working with Testal’s long established team to offer clients the complete environmental package – from initial assessment and site investigation to practical solutions that can be seen through from start to finish. This integrated approach will enable our clients to save valuable time and money.

He continues, “Testal has a good reputation for high quality site data acquisition and analysis. It is my role to help the team harness those skills and focus them into new sectors and so open up new markets for our talent”.

Gordon Kells, business manager at Testal adds, “We have already invested heavily in the environmental side of our business to provide a rapid and personal service to clients.

“Our noise and vibration sector in particular has already shown potential for growth with us working increasingly on projects where noise predictions need to be agreed between the contractor and Local Authority before construction work starts.

He continues, “We are delighted to welcome Ian on board. His expertise in the construction and civil engineering industries and his practical experience in environmental issues will help us develop new and exciting business streams alongside our existing professional services.”

About Testal

Testal is an established provider of professional technical services to the construction industry in the areas of pile testing, structural monitoring, noise and vibration monitoring and diagnostic testing. The company has worked on a variety of high profile multi-million pound projects including the London Eye, East London Line and Kings Cross Northern Ticket Hall.

Testal’s accomplishments also include developing bespoke monitoring or testing solutions to address client problems on small to medium size projects. A recent example of this is the load testing of glass panels, supports and handrails at a prestigious multi-storey office block in Glasgow, where Testal developed a special rig to enable the requisite data to be captured.

The company is committed to sustainability and like its sister BBGE companies continually strives to improve its environmental performance. For example, the company has recently invested in Cadna A, the leading state-of-the-art software for noise calculation, noise mapping and noise prediction. Cadna A enables Testal to provide the contractor with different scenarios, in order to discover and assess the most effective and efficient options for noise control.

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