Bob Johnstone appointed Managing Director of Keltbray’s Industrial and Explosives Division.
Johnstone comes to Keltbray with 25 years’ worth of experience from working as a consultant to the industry and Keltbray, providing structural design services and managing large-scale construction and demolition projects on highly regulated sites within the industrial, petrochemical and nuclear sectors. But it was while running his own consultancy he developed a special interest and reputation within the demolition field in the UK and beyond: “From the outset of my career demolition has been an area of particular interest, and my motivation has always been to identify the safest way possible to demolish any structure; be it by machine, dismantling, controlled collapse or the controlled use of explosives” he explains.
According to Managing Director of Keltbray Group John Price, Johnstone complements the existing explosives team by bringing structural engineering capability to the division: “We’re delighted Bob is joining us, as his understanding of how a building was originally designed, and how the structure may have been altered and deteriorated over the years, is essential when considering demolition options. This is especially the case when using controlled explosives, where ensuring workforce safety during the building preparatory works before blowdown, and achieving the designed mode of collapse during blowdown, are both crucially important to the success of the project,” Price says.
Johnstone is based in Keltbray’s Leeds office, and will be responsible for strengthening the Group’s geographical reach and expanding the company’s demolition portfolio in the industrial, petrochemical and nuclear sectors.
