Lifetime Achievement: Jeff Jones

British Parking Awards 2021

Jeff Jones is a well-respected person within the car park refurbishment and new build sector. He is business development manager, a expansion joint specialist Radflex Contract Services, where he has worked for 25 years. Over that quarter of a century he has been involved in the construction and refurbishment of over 250 car parks, giving him an unrivalled experience in the sector.

Having started out as apprentice bricklayer between 1970-75, he completing an HNC Civil Engineering qualification between 1978-81. His parking life began when he joined Compriband/Tremco Illbruk, which is now part of RPM Group. His role back then involved advising engineers, surveyors and building owners on suitable expansion joint solutions for their car park structures.

He is an active member of the Mastic Asphalt Council (MAC) and a founding member of the British Parking Association’s Structures and Asset Management Special Interest Group (SAMSIG), currently chaired by Russell Simmons of Stripe Consulting.

Jones has also supplied numerous editorials for Parking Review over the years and has been involved with various British Parking Award submissions over the years, including in the M&S Cheshire Oaks car park, which won a British Parking Award in 2013.

As he enters the latter years of his career, Jones has still got the drive and determination that he had back in the early 1990s.

Tim Whitaker, vice president, UK & Ireland, USL Group, says: “Jeff has always been and always will be a ‘character’ within the car park refurbishment sector. You can count on one hand the parking sector, car park contractor notable influencers over the last 20 years – Jeff is up there. Jeff has never been afraid to offer other manufacturers products, to contractors, structural engineers, architects, surveyors and asset managers. He always is prepared to go the extra mile to provide a solution to a problem and keep the client happy and provide something that works.

“He still dons PPE and works on site two or three times yearly to fully understand the ongoing problems involved with contracting. This involves a lot of interaction with fellow contractors in a working environment, no matter what the weather! One of Jeff’s unique selling points is that he has never ‘made enemies’. Despite having competition from other expansion joint manufacturers and specialist contractors, Jeff remains liked by all his peers and industry associates.”

Lee Pope, director of Leslie Jones Architects, says: “I have known Jeff for nearly 20 years in a professional nature and have become friends over the this period. Jeff has provided invaluable technical advice and design services, along with installation services on a number of major projects from Shopping centres to multi storey car parks, some of which have gone on to win Gold awards. We also defer to Jeff when we are looking at existing refurbishment buildings which have failing movement joints for expert advice.”

Chris Whapples, consultant at Stripe Consulting, says: “Through thick and thin I have known and dealt with Jeff in a professional capacity for over 30 years, and when others have fallen by the wayside Jeff has kept going and has been totally loyal to both his employer and their products. He is well known to many architects, engineers and specialist contractors to whom he has not held back in giving some fatherly advice – needless to say I have been no exception. He is a member of the Mastic Asphalt Council and advisor for joints within waterproof hot melt systems (the black stuff!).

“Having witnessed first-hand how the corrosion process could be so detrimental to MSCPs, Jeff became one of the founder members of the BPA’s Structures and Asset Management Special Interest Group (now the Structures Group) and has been a constant supporter of good practice and betterment within the industry and in particular the need for ‘Life-Care Planning’.

“Sometimes Jeff Jones reminds me of Bridget Jones (no relation I am sure) and their quest to find perfection in an imperfect world, but in Jeff’s case he found it in the form of car parks and made it his career.”