A FAMILY owned construction company is celebrating its 100th year in business.

Woolston-based Williams Tarr specialises in complex and large-scale commercial, leisure, retail and industrial projects, and counts many of the north west’s blue-chip retail park operators and financial institutions as clients.

Founded in 1918 by the Williams and Tarr families, the company began life as the Concrete Seacraft Limited to build pioneering concrete ocean-going barges during the post-First World War steel shortage.

In the decades that followed, Williams, Tarr and Company – as it was known for almost 80 years – diversified into mainstream commercial and industrial construction with projects including the building of Warrington’s Cockhedge shopping centre in the 1980s and the design and build of Procter & Gamble’s state-on-the-art Trafford Park 30metre-high bay warehouse in the 1990s.

Today, the company is headed up by managing director David Wilkinson and his brother, fellow director Ed, whose father and former company chairman Mike Wilkinson joined the business as a trainee manager in 1967 and worked his way up to managing director before buying it in 1989.

Major clients include some of the region’s biggest retail park owners and private retail companies Legal &General and Home Bargains with contracts to construct and refurbish prime retail buildings, often in sensitive, live trading environments.

“Reaching our 100th year as a strong and resilient company working on projects that really challenge what our industry can achieve is a fantastic milestone and a testament to the sustainable way in which we’ve always done business,” said David.

“We’re not chasing ever-increasing turnover and we ensure we never over-stretch our resources.

“Instead, we work hard to nurture a stable business that’s focused on quality service, achieving great results for our clients and providing secure, stimulating and enjoyable working lives and opportunities for our people.

“This approach has allowed us to navigate the highs and lows of an industry that mirrors the economic health of the nation and sustain a thriving business with a sound and exciting future in our region.”

Other recent projects include the construction of some of the north west’s most prestigious car showrooms, key focal buildings on the Speke boulevard redevelopment scheme, and a string of technical pharmaceutical and warehousing developments.

The company is also known for its work tackling technically challenging projects such as extensive and complex structural repairs to the top four storeys of the seven-storey Coopers retail building in the heart of one of Liverpool’s busiest shopping streets, which took place in 2016 without interruption to trading.

“We’re proud of our Warrington heritage,” says David Wilkinson. “We’ve stayed local because this is an ideal location to do business right across the north west.

“Our clients are spread throughout the region, from Liverpool and North Wales to Manchester, and here we have great access to them.”

The company and its supply chain of specialist sub contractors number in excess of 200 people in and around the area.