A landmark year for Hovington

Posted by on 31 Oct 2023

As part of Rochdale Development Agency’s 30th birthday celebrations we’re speaking to some of the region’s biggest names and businesses who are celebrating their own special anniversary.

2023 has been a landmark year for Nick Green.

Just like the RDA, the managing director of Rochdale civil engineering company Hovington Ltd is celebrating his own 30th work anniversary.

Hovington, which turned 40 in 2021, has grown turnover to £8m on the back of a number of contract wins.

Green said: “I’m 59 so I’ve now been at Hovington for more years than I haven’t but I still really enjoy what I do.

“It’s great to see the tangible difference that we make. We’re involved in the whole process, from starting on site to the finished product.

“Although a proud Yorkshireman by birth, I live and work in Rochdale and I’ve seen the RDA go from strength to strength during that time.

“A lot of the work they do goes unseen but what they’ve done to bring the town together is amazing and really embodies the spirit of Rochdale.”

Green’s own journey at Hovington has been equally memorable.

A chartered surveyor by trade, he initially joined as a quantity surveyor and was one of 15 staff. Today he’s the managing director and oversees a staff of 25.

Hovington was established in 1981 and has evolved into a specialist groundwork, highways, remediation, utilities and drainage contractor working across a number of sectors including retail, industrial, commercial, public sector, residential and student accommodation.

Clients have included IKEA, Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Asda, Airbus, Safestore, Universal Container Services, GLP, Fortune Brands, St Modwen, Willmott Dixon and Lidl.

Three years ago, the company announced that the founders’ sons - John Maloney Jr and Martin Quinn – would be exiting the business with John’s son Jack Maloney becoming the financial director, Green taking on the role of managing director and Mike Penny appointed as operations manager.

Hovington has been involved in string of high profile projects including Rochdale Riverside retail development, the car park and external works for Hopwood Hall College, Rochdale Campus, the IKEA store in Ashton, the new Brian Clarke CofE Academy in Oldham and creating the structure that Manchester’s famous archway in Chinatown is built on.

Green, who is a keen (but by his own admission, very average) cyclist in his spare time, described Hovington as one of “the North West’s best-kept secrets”.

He explained: “We have recently developed a great deal of expertise in the logistics sector, undertaking a number of large warehouse projects including a 650,000ft2 logistics hub in Doncaster and a 300,000ft2 manufacturing facility in Wolverhampton for a high end sanitary ware manufacturer.

“We are hoping this specialist process capability will position us well to work on the new innovative Atom Valley development with the RDA at the vanguard of promoting this exciting opportunity.

“Rochdale of 30 years ago is a shadow of what it is today. The town has really embraced its opportunities and the regeneration of the town centre had been fantastic to watch.

“One of the first things I did when I moved to Rochdale was the join Rochdale RUFC and despite retiring 15 years ago, and then going on to coach one of the junior teams, I’ve got many fantastic friends for life. They’re great people in Rochdale and it’s rewarding to now be able to sponsor our local rugby club that does such inspiring work for the local community.

“Although we work across the North, we do a lot of work in and around Rochdale alongside other Rochdale businesses including Takeuchi; Alderburgh; Jackson & Jackson; Ken Taylor Supplies; Marshalls Quarry Products; and Zen Internet.

“We are busy preparing for the next 40 years of Hovington by ‘growing our own’ next generation of managers and workforce, working closely with the excellent people at the RDA and looking forward a bright future for the company and Rochdale.”