Investment pays off for flood risk specialists in a competitive field

Flood-risk and environmental management consultancy JBA, whose headquarters are in Skipton, was named Consultant of the Year in the medium-sized business category of the New Civil Engineer Consulting Engineers Awards for 2010.

The success caps a year that has seen JBA ride out the recession with increased investment and growth – a strategy that seems to have paid off.

Two new offices – in West Sussex and South Wales – have been opened in the past 12 months, taking the number of UK sites to 14.

"We have always maintained a significant internal R&D capability to make sure we stay ahead in a very competitive marketplace, and this was increased by 50 per cent during the recession as we believe that investment is the way to continued success," explained JBA chief executive Jeremy Benn.

"This was around 150,000, which might not seem a vast sum of money – but for a company our size and in the current economy, it's quite a commitment. Our strategy is to sustain investment in R&D – and I think that's one reason we continued to do well throughout the recession."

With five of the 14 offices in Yorkshire – in Skipton, Saltaire, Tadcaster, Northallerton and Doncaster – JBA works with organisations both in the UK and further afield. The company has just completed a water surface management plan in conjunction with Leeds City Council, but also regularly operates in countries such as Poland, Switzerland, Vietnam and Bosnia.

JBA was originally co-founded by Mr Benn in 1995 and today employs 250 people with a turnover of 13m. In 2006, the business acquired the long-established consulting engineers Grantham Brundell & Farran, of Doncaster, and expanded further two years ago by taking over Maslen Environmental Ltd, a specialist landscape architecture and related environmental management services consultancy.

"We work on a number of levels," said Mr Benn. "We analyse the causes and risk of flooding and produce a management plan for how to handle it. We're also involved in creating wetland habitats – we worked with parish councils, Yorkshire Forward and the Environment Agency to create one from scratch on the south bank of the River Humber, for example.

"In some cases we can prevent flooding but it's always going to rain so raising awareness of what can be done to better manage flooding situations and reduce the impact it has is also important."

He added: "The NCE Consultant of the Year award is a tremendous honour. Like all others, the flood risk and environmental management industry is experiencing challenging times but we've moved into 2010 with great confidence.

"We have 5.8m in forward orders, our two new offices are already trading above expectations and we've increased our internal R&D spending.

"I'm particularly proud that JBA has maintained graduate recruitment and staff levels and avoided pay cuts for staff over the past three years – very much the exception in our industry."

The company's focus during the coming months will also be on its own sustainability, as it aims to beat its own targets for reducing its carbon footprint.

Firm keeps its head above water

Three key projects helped secure JBA's recent award:

n Producing a series of detailed flood hazard maps for the whole of mainland France

n Working with the Irish government and Office of Public Works on guidance for integrating flood-risk management into existing traditional planning systems in both the UK and Europe

n Developing a tailored web-based flood warning system on behalf of the Environment Agency to allow organisations such as utilities and transport companies to monitor any risk to their infrastructure at times of flood.

The judges said: "JBA has shown remarkable stability in good times and bad, growing steadily in the UK and internationally.

"The company now ranks in the top five flood-management consultancies in the UK.