40 years and counting!
Career Story: Sean Isherwood – Plant Director
I joined CHC on 4 March 1986, but my love for plant started long before then. As a youngster, I was obsessed with diggers, dumpers and dozers. I spent many weekends working for my uncle Tom at his demolition company, driving plant and helping knock mills down. I also spent a lot of time at Marshalls Quarry, where I first met Billy Waywell and Ian Kerr. I later started dating Ian’s daughter, and as our friendship grew, Ian told me CHC were looking for “a superstar” and suggested I apply, although he jokes they ended up with me instead!
My interview with Howard involved moving a pile of hardcore from one side of the yard to the other using a Liebherr 912 excavator, without coming off the pile. I managed it, and he offered me a job on the spot: £30 a shift as a machine driver. My first job was on a Benatti wheeled excavator at Speke Boulevard with Dave May, no windows, no heater, and plenty of character!
My career with CHC has taken me all over the UK and into some fascinating roles. I progressed from wheeled excavator operator to driving our first-ever Cat D250B dump truck, then onto Cat 235 and 245 excavators for Costain at Mablethorpe, installing a gas pipeline out to sea. At one point we were working 18-hour days and sleeping six hours in the cab. I worked on sea defence barges in the North Sea, sank deep shafts in Manchester city centre, became foreman at Llanddulas landfill site, and eventually operated our prestigious Cat D9L with an impact ripper - one of only two in the world at the time.
In 1993, at just 26, Howard asked me to become Plant Manager. I’ll always remember Pam and Auntie Jean reassuring me that “Howard’s bark is worse than his bite”. In 2000, I was given the opportunity to take on the role of Plant Director, a position I still feel incredibly proud to hold.
I’ve had many great moments at CHC, including being the first driver to earn £1,000 in a week at the age of 24, but what I’m most proud of is being part of CHC’s success story. To have been trusted, supported and promoted through the business at such a young age is something I’ll always value.
Howard has had the biggest influence on my career, and on my life. I’ve never met anyone with the same passion, determination and drive for success. Even through ill health, his commitment never wavered. He has been a remarkable mentor, and he provided my family and me with security for 40 years, something I’ll forever be grateful for.
What I still enjoy most is getting out to site, understanding how best to tackle the work, seeing CHC kit grafting hard, and catching up with the lads and lasses. That’s when I feel most connected to where it all began.
If I had one piece of advice for anyone starting out, it would be this: if you love the construction industry like I do, it’s a brilliant career. It’s taken me across the UK and abroad, given me lifelong friends, and provided a working life I’m incredibly proud of.
