HBXL Xcellence Award December 2007
Extract taken from Professional Builder Magazine, December 2007
If I had a Hammer
For Lee Goodwin, having played for West Ham United FC, he was well used to being part of a team whose sole goal was winning and has continued in that tradition in his building career with HBXL’s Xcellence Award.
Unfortunately for Lee, a severe knee injury at 18 cut short his promising football career so he had to focus his attention elsewhere. All was not lost however, because, thanks to his dad’s guidance and persistence on studying hard and gaining a skill in another trade, Lee knuckled down and concentrated on completing his apprenticeship.
Following in the footsteps of his father and grandfather as a skilled tradesman, scoring for Lee today takes on a completely different meaning as he operates a specialist family run renovation company with his brother Dean and father John.
Called Oakleaf property Services Ltd, the team operates the business out of their Romford HQ covering all of Essex and London. The main focus of the business is to provide a skilled renovation service, focusing primarily on those who have been unfortunate enough to suffer from some form of disaster such as a flood or fire.
For Lee staying true to the company motto that ‘Quality and Integrity Still counts’ is key to maintaining its reputation and is why they will never compromise.
Lee said ‘It’s the little things that make all the difference. For us first impressions count so we ensure for example, that during a project the site remains immaculate. That way we know we’re working in a safe environment which enables us to produce high quality work, and the customer is left happy in the knowledge that a through job has been done.
“My dad always said that money in the building industry is made not with your hands but with your brains, You have to be able to converse with the likes of loss assessors, architects and clients to procure the work in the first place. It is as paramount as maintaining our reputation. It’s imperative we make the correct impression right from the beginning to the very end. You are only as good as your weakest link, and I am extremely proud to say we have acquired a team that are not only experienced but extremely professional.”
Recent Projects for Oakleaf have included a complete restoration of a 200-year old house in Upminster that saw Lee and the team sourcing and installing period materials that we in-keeping with the property’s original design, Also, Oakleaf has recently come to the rescue of a local woman who had paid nearly £19,000 to a builder who basically took the money ad ran having botched the job from the very beginning. Lee added “its very frustrating to see the result of someone else’s inferior work when we then have to rectify. Many people choose the cheapest option which results in compromising on quality and materials. The end result us an unhappy customer. Its always best to choose companies with a good local reputation or which are members of the FMB or NFB whose work has been verified as being of a high standard.”
Previous Winners:
January Winner - Richard Vincent, R V Carpentry & Building in Wiltshire
February Winner - Nick Fell, The Fell Partnership in Taverstock
March Winner - Jeff Goodyer, Artbuild Kent Ltd
April Winner - Malcolm Wiggins, Lichfield Deisgn & Construct Ltd in Lichfield
May Winner - Martin Proctor, One Call Services in Kent
June Winner - Stuart Henderson, SDH Builders in Weston-Super-Mare, Somerset
July-August Winner - Ian Sanderson, Ian Sanderson (General Builders) in Doncaster
September Winner - Andrew Snell, DJ Snell in Clacton-on-Sea, Essex
October Winner - Paul O’Gorman, POG Building Contractors, Merseyside
