Seamans are delighted to announce the appointment of our new Construction Director, Matt Bynoe.

Matt has a wealth of experience in construction, having spearheaded a wide variety of challenging projects across Suffolk and beyond throughout his career.

Matt said he was excited to join the Seamans’ team, impressed by the company’s long history of delivering high-quality projects.

He said: “Seamans was an attractive move for me because there’s such a great balance of skills here – the senior team and skilled operatives offer a unique blend to customers and end users.

“They have been in the business for a long time and have an impressive track record of staff retention.

“The balance is perfect, you have new staff who have been here a few years and others who have been here for their whole careers.

“It means the company has people coming in with new ways of thinking and approaching projects but also employees with huge experience and knowledge in multiple sectors.”

Starting his career in civil engineering, Matt put himself through college while working part time, later joining an Essex-based construction firm as a management trainee.

He worked at a number of construction companies over the years, most recently spending 15 years as Contracts Director at a large regional building firm, building extensive experience in complex, multisector projects.

These include complex restoration projects, including the repair and refurbishment of the scheduled ancient monument St Osyth Priory – one of the oldest monastic gatehouses in the UK.

Matt said his experience with heritage projects would be helpful in his role at Seamans.

“The St Osyth Priory project was a privilege to work on, taking a lot of coordination between Historic England, planners, trustees and various other interested parties,” he said.

“Historic building restoration is challenging from a contracts point of view, difficult to budget and programme and to navigate stakeholders – but hugely rewarding.”

“I’ve really enjoyed it here at Seamans since joining in May.

“It’s regional, well-established, has been going for 120 years and has a very good working environment.

“It also means I travel and work in a beautiful part of the country, which is a big bonus.”

To read more about Seaman’s board of directors, see our blog page here.

Seamans Building are proud to have broken ground at a 13-home development for Barley Homes in Rougham.

A ceremony, on April 7, marked the start of work on the site – a mix of new detached and semi-detached homes.

The development built on behalf of Barley Homes, a housebuilder owned by West Suffolk Council, will also include four affordable homes.

Adam Cummings, Seamans’ Commercial Director, said: “Seamans Building are honoured to have been appointed as the contractor for this important mixed-tenure project.

“Our team is committed to delivering high-quality, energy efficient homes that will provide much-needed housing for the local community.

“We look forward to collaborating closely with our partners Barley Homes to ensure the successful delivery of this development.”

The new development will deliver a mix of one-, two-, three- and four-bedroom homes with sizable gardens and country views.

Each property will be built using a fabric first approach, including high levels of insulation.

All homes will have heating and hot water provided using air sourced heat pumps, with electrical charging points also being installed.

The development will include high-quality landscaping, extensive planting of new and retained native trees and hedges and an onsite open space area.

A spokesperson for Barley Homes said: “We are committed to providing sustainable, quality homes tailored to the local community and are delighted to be working with Seamans to deliver our development in Rougham.”

Speaking soon after the project was green lit, West Suffolk Councillor Richard O’Driscoll, Chair of the Shareholder Advisory Group, said: “Barley Homes is able to bring forward developments that contain affordable homes and are tailored for the local community.

“Simultaneously, it also provides an income back to West Suffolk Council to help support services at a time of national financial challenges for public services.

“Barley Homes has already successfully developed properties in Haverhill and I look forward to seeing Rougham move forward.”

Keep an eye out on our social media channels for updates as the project progresses.

Martlesham Primary Academy is celebrating the redevelopment and transformation of its school site – including the construction of a new Year 6 classroom block.

The project, where Seamans were the main contractor, also included an internal reconfiguration to create a SEND classroom, decorating existing classrooms as well as the installation of new and improved toilet facilities and associated drainage systems.

Headteacher Emma Churchman said: “This project marks a huge milestone for Martlesham Primary Academy, ensuring we can provide the very best facilities for our children.

“Martlesham Primary may be a small school, but we are a vibrant place buzzing with positivity and possibility – our new learning spaces are already making a real difference to both the children and staff and it’s been brilliant to see how positively they are responding to our new-look school.”

The project was a collaboration of REAch2 Academy Trust, Suffolk County Council, property management and design consultants Concertus and Seamans Building.

Cathie Paine, CEO of REAch2 Academy Trust, said: “We are thrilled to see this investment come to life. This is a great example of how strong partnerships can deliver real benefits for schools and their communities.”

Despite facing challenges working on a working school site during term time, the team completed the work without disruption to the pupils’ learning.

In October, the children were given a sneak peek of the new Year 6 block, donning hard hats and hi-vis for a guided tour by Seamans site manager Adam Gillibrand.

“This project has been a real pleasure to work on,” he said. “The staff and pupils have been really engaged in the project and made us feel part of the school community.”

Charles Coulson, Associate Director at Concertus, added: “The new expansion is a fantastic asset to the children and local community.

“The team worked hard to create a new state-of-the-art learning facility, and we were pleased to see the students enjoying their new classrooms at the official opening.”

Management Trainee Luke Schartau said there is ‘no limit’ to where he can go thanks to his ongoing apprenticeship with Seamans.

Speaking as part of Learning at Work Week, 18-year-old Luke said his apprenticeship will unlock doors to every area in the construction industry.

Luke joined us in August 2023 while still studying for his Level 2 BTEC in Engineering from Suffolk One – initially coming in one day a week, which will extend to four come July.

He will also spend one day a week at Anglia Ruskin University in Chelmsford to complete his degree apprenticeship in Construction Management.

Luke said: “I’ve been here for 10 months now – I’m really enjoying it and it’s been very beneficial.

“Everyone here is so supportive and is happy to help me with any question I have.

“My dad works in construction and I got the initial idea of joining the industry from him, but it wasn’t until I started studying engineering at college that I realised how much I wanted to get into it.

“My work so far has mostly been on the pre-construction side of things – I like the behind the scenes role and seeing that clear journey from a project bid to completion.

“I’ll be rotating what I do throughout the apprenticeship and I’m looking forward to getting out on site to learn more about what goes on.”

Luke added the rotation and flexibility an apprenticeship with Seamans offers is “hugely” beneficial to his education.

He said: “There are plenty more steps to go along the way, but I know this apprenticeship is really going to help me in my career. The beauty of it is in that rotation, giving me more skills and more of an idea as to what I want to get in to.

“There is no limit to where I can go and I’m enjoying taking it one step at a time.”

Mark Reason, Pre-Construction Director at Seamans, said: “Luke has already proven to be a huge asset to the company.

“He has a great aptitude for learning and has contributed in harnessing new software to supplement our work winning strategy.

“We look forward to helping Luke reach his potential, through supporting him with his studies and providing a structured training plan and experience in the workplace.”

To find out more about any upcoming apprenticeship or career opportunities, visit our careers page.

Seamans’ new Commercial Director says he has big plans for the company’s future.

Adam Cummings joined Seamans in November last year having previously worked as Operations Director for a large Ipswich construction firm.

Adam will play a key role in the company’s future business development, particularly in its commercial endeavours.

He said since joining the company, the expertise among Seamans’ staff has really impressed him.

“Seamans is a well-established business with a very good reputation,” he said.

“Being a company with its own tradespeople is a huge selling point for the business in the current market, where the quality of the supply chain is decreasing.

“To have that level of expertise among its tradespeople as a selling point is great to have.”

Adam first dipped his toes in the construction sector as a teenager.

He said: “My first taste of construction was doing summers roofing to get a few quid in the back pocket during school holidays – that was my first experience of construction sites.

“My dad was a surveyor, although he was more on the civil side – roads, bridges etc, so I have taken a slightly different route through the industry.”

After joining a construction company in Ipswich after college, Adam worked his way through the industry from Trainee Quantity Surveyor to eventually become a Commercial Director and then Operations Director.

Adam will play an integral role in Seamans’ development and will work closely with pre-construction director Mark Reason on which tenders to bid for and the long-term strategy of the business while overseeing the commerciality of the live projects.

“At Seamans, we have an excellent opportunity to move forward with housing, schools and hospitals while also building on our already strong reputation in heritage restoration and domestic work,” he said.

“It is a very exciting time for Seamans. There are huge opportunities going forward with the company.

“In an industry where quality is waning and partnered approaches are becoming a rarity, we aim to redress the balance in both areas.”

For more information on Seamans’ ongoing projects, see here.