0161 723 2000
8AM to 5PM
0161 723 2000
8AM to 5PM
On Thursday 14th July 2022, Japanese Knotweed Solutions Limited received the Property Care Association’s ‘Contractor of the Year’ award for the category of Invasive Weeds (large company) at the PCA’s glitzy annual awards event at the University of Warwick’s venue The Slate in Coventry.
It was a great night and JKSL would like to extend our thanks to the PCA and our congratulations to all of the award winners on the night, including contractors not just in invasive weeds but also in damp and timber proofing as well as individual employees and students too numerous to list here.
The Contractor of the Year is awarded to the company which receives the highest audit score in their category – it’s not based on nominations, votes or politics, simply whoever most effectively achieves compliance with the PCA’s standards. As JKSL’s Operations Manager, I look after our audits for the PCA, BASIS and INNSA and I attended along with a colleague to receive the award on JKSL’s behalf.
I’ve received congratulations from many colleagues on the award and I tell them all the same thing: it’s *our* award and it wouldn’t have been possible without all of you.
Starting with our receptionist and enquiries team who answer clients’ questions and provide the information and options that best suit their project, we have a great first point of contact for anyone who reaches out to JKSL about any other invasive plant species.
JKSL’s survey team are all degree-level qualified PCA-trained (CSJK) surveyors and highly knowledgeable and effective project planners. The department includes BASIS Professional Register and IEMA members, each with several years of survey experience at JKSL. They visit sites, produce management plans and ensure that all treatment plans are in line with the PCA’s best-practice guidance. They’re usually the first boots on the ground and the first face our clients see.
Our Operations team is an efficient little machine working away at the centre of the business to make sure that our resources are always where they need to be, that they’re managed effectively, our equipment stays in tip-top condition, that our systems run smoothly and our information is always as up-to-date and accurate as possible.
The stars of the show are, of course, our many site operatives, who travel the country to spray, inject, leaf-wipe, cut, fell, hand-pull, dig and screen invasive plants all across the UK. They expertly operate heavy plant and carry out delicate and complex installations of root barriers, burial cells, waste management areas as well as paths, fencing and other biodiversity and landscaping features.
JKSL’s accounts and HR teams work hard under a director who has been with the company for over a decade, effectively managing both our stalwart core team and an ever-developing roster of newer staff. They have seen the business strongly through some significantly challenging economic conditions and support all of our team day-to-day throughout their career with JKSL.
Our marketing department do a fantastic job in promoting JKSL as a business, catching people’s attention and imagination and communicating who JKSL really are and what we’re about, reaching out to any potential clients to make sure that the company gets the recognition it deserves.
Finally, none of it would be possible without Mike Clough, who founded the company on a base of both his own knowledge and expertise and his existing landscape management team – many of whom are still with the company today. Mike has developed, grown and kept this JKSL family together for over twenty years. He’s still the boundless energy behind the company and the driving force of this award-winning organisation.
Chris Oliver, Operations Manager
THE END OF THE WORLD AS WE KNOW IT July 13, 2022I am beginning to think the world is about to come to a sticky end.
The rich get richer… and the poor get poorer and those in the middle just get left to feel bad about everything they do.
David Beckham loans his Twitter account to help the Ukrainian crisis – yet spends £3 million on his son’s wedding.
Boris Johnson – don’t even know where to start…
Rishi Sunak – come on…somebody’s having a laugh.
Prince Andrew – jeez
Will Smith – nonsense.
Prince Charles and Queen Camilla – no …just no
What have I done to deserve this life…? I’m thinking probably…I just got born a smidgeon toooo late.
My brother, a few years older than me – managed to get out and sell his share in his business before all this pandemic and war nonsense. He’s invested wisely and he’s all sorted for his retirement.
My dad managed to retire at 55 and got paid a huge lump sum to retire early (he was a teacher, and this was a ‘thing’ at the time to encourage new teachers and get rid of some of the older members of staff and get new blood in).
I don’t see me (61) retiring anytime soon (and I certainly don’t see anyone on the horizon paying me to retire).
When I go out in my car, I feel I’m harming the environment.
If I think about flying somewhere for a holiday, I feel I’m harming the environment.
If I put the heating on at home, I feel I’m catering to Putin’s regime.
I can’t read the papers – too depressing.
I can’t watch the news – too depressing.
I can’t eat meat.
I can’t eat dairy.
I’m not allowed to drink.
I’m worried about fish being sustainably caught.
I worry about over foraging.
When I go out to eat, I worry about the shortages of staff and the hours they work.
I can’t get my car serviced – no staff.
TV is rubbish.
The Oscars were an embarrassment.
Covid …was all that shut down really necessary?
Electric cars?
Ground source heating.
Solar power.
The weather.
Global warming ….
What is a man to do to relax?
Seriously if anyone knows of something we are currently allowed to do that won’t piss somebody else off …please enlighten me.
Mike C
