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- Reflecting on My First Year at Curtins
Since joining Curtins in November 2024, David Marshall has played an active role in strengthening Curtins’ already well-established presence in the Isle of Man. As a people-first business, our employee ownership is central to our culture, with a shared responsibility for quality, innovation, and the consistent delivery of high-value outcomes for our clients and the communities we serve. Here are David’s reflections from his first year with Curtins:
I didn’t get to work under Rob Melling as CEO for very long before his retirement, but it is clear that the business was already on a positive track. Since Neil Parkinson took over the helm last year, it has been great to feel like part of a team that is pulling in the same direction. Developing The Curtins Way has solidified the expectations and shared beliefs of the company in terms of working together and ultimately to the client’s experience.
"Looking back on my first year, I can say that the experience has been an exciting one. I’ve been welcomed with open arms. I’ve enjoyed the challenges that I’ve faced and the projects I’ve had the opportunity to contribute to. I’ve been lucky enough to bring my knowledge of steel and concrete framed structures gained during my 10 years in London practice to a variety of projects, working seamlessly between offices in other UK locations and across multi-disciplinary teams. My experience in deep basement design is yet to come in useful on the Isle of Man yet, but there’s always hope!
Working for an Employee Owned Trust, you really get a feeling of shared ownership, and it is clear our wider team all take pride in our work because we all share in our success – which means we’re delivering the best outcomes for our clients. Curtins has excellent UK and Ireland coverage, with offices varying in size dramatically from the smaller offices such as the Isle of Man through to our largest offices in Liverpool, Manchester, Leeds and London. What has really struck me is the local presence that Curtins maintains in all its regional offices, despite its large size. Having that amount of experience within the business to draw from is something that sets us apart from our competition, while having engineers there in person and available to our clients gives the personal touch.
The Isle of Man office is currently a team of three staff, with two experienced and chartered associate engineers and technician support, but the office is part of a much larger Northern Hub, consisting of our Edinburgh, Glasgow, Dublin, Isle of Man and Kendal offices. Sharing resources is something Curtins do very well, managing peaks and troughs in workload across our offices requires complex coordination and planning but come as second nature due to the clever systems in place."
"The future of the Isle of Man office looks bright. We continue to be involved in some of the Island’s most important and notable schemes. As we look to grow our team in 2026, we demonstrate a continued commitment to the Isle of Man’s construction industry and to the island as a whole."
"Curtins is among the leading consultants in the UK for our commitment to Carbon reduction in construction and for our excellence in BIM coordination. As a business we often take part in presentations and discussion panels on thought leadership topics such as these. With the Island creeping closer towards the Island’s plan for Net Zero carbon, we are looking forward to 2026 and beyond, when we hope to bring these topics to the forefront of people’s minds and create conversation about what we can do better as an industry to reduce our impact on the planet and showcase our good practices to our local communities.
Following the recent consultation period on the Isle of Man’s proposed move to CDM 2026 legislation, intended to bring the island into alignment with the UK’s CDM 2015 Regulations, both Ian Copley and I have extensive experience working under the current UK CDM framework and are well placed to support design teams on the island through this transition. We fully support the initiative and direction of travel in progressing towards more robust and up-to-date health and safety legislation, and we welcome the opportunity to contribute constructively to the process."
David joined a close‑knit team of two, where Ian and Noel continue to deliver high‑quality work across a diverse range of projects- from new builds to refurbishments - spanning Education, the Ministry of Defence, Housing, and Workplace environments. Having worked together for more than 30 years, they’ve built strong relationships across the island and remain deeply committed to enhancing the built environment of the Isle of Man.
They are delighted to have David on board and look forward to continued growth as the team strengthens its presence across the island.
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