KGX1 showcases TClarke’s huge programme value capabilities

19/10/21: TClarke’s Non-executive directors visited Kings Cross and the landmark KGX1 project where TClarke is delivering one of the most complex mechanical installations in the UK right now. Chairman Iain McCusker talks about the value that TClarke delivers on a strategic level.

KGX1 will be an extraordinary landmark in London – a 300 metre plus ‘groundscraper’ – as long as the Shard is tall and a key part of the UK’s technology infrastructure. It is great to see that once again, TClarke engineers are playing their part, helping world class partners to achieve their vision.

But our visit to KGX1 has confirmed something worth discussing – the truly ‘strategic’ level of value that TClarke brings.

KGX1 is a vast project and TClarke is one of around 50 specialist contractors working within the team.  Each of these will have specialists’ skills or services and their own project to deliver. 

Our engineering skills and the nature of our relationships with client and construction manager mean that we are adding value in so many ways at that strategic level, above and beyond the simple delivery of the works.  It is this strategic programme value that sets TClarke apart in the marketplace.

At KGX1 as we stood in the middle of the extraordinary, vast underground Chiller room – one of the most complex and precision-designed pieces of engineering you could ever wish to see – we really saw that in action. We saw engineering (which would, done in the normal, high-quality approach take nine months) being installed perfectly, first time by TClarke in just twenty-two days.

To get there, a great deal of planning, collaboration, design work, precision manufacture at our own offsite manufacturing facilities and sheer engineering expertise was brought to bear, deep underground. 

To get there, TClarke has taken the lead, using virtual digital technologies to replace the traditional ways of working. We have brought simplification to the programme; we have removed risks and we have increased certainty to the programme. All of this has created substantial cost benefits on a strategic level. This is all very clearly above and beyond the delivery of engineering packages. 

Put simply, there are very few in the engineering services marketplace with the capability to deliver true programme value for clients and principal contractors. TClarke stands apart and KGX1 is proof once again that our skills are at the very leading edge of engineering.