Bermuda Building Services Company Ltd. is a new one stop shop for all aspects of building maintenance, construction and engineering, and is the brainchild of the first Bermudian general manager of the Island's International Airport, Marshall Minors.

Mr. Minors, now 48, left his post at the airport in November last year as he had set a deadline for himself to operate his own business by age 47.

During his 27 years of Government employment he wore many hats after starting out as a carpentry apprentice for the Public Works Department in 1972.

A graduate of Bermuda Technical Institute, he studied engineering in the UK between 1977 and 1979 and completed a degree in civil engineering at the Technical University of Nova Scotia in 1983.

He was involved in engineering projects in almost every parish in the Island and in areas such as schools, roads, hospitals, bridges and the old military bases before finishing his public service career at the Airport.

Mr. Minors is the managing director of the new company. His brother Michael is the field manager and friend Shane Kelly is responsible for corporate issues and legal advice.

Mr. Minors says the company is a building services company rather than a general contracting company, and will do anything related to buildings, including maintenance, construction, engineering and project management.

"We are a full facilities management company. We will look after an entire facility," explains Mr. Minors. "Anything required to keep a building functioning."

Mr. Minors said the company has been busy since starting up a year ago.

Projects have included schools, public buildings, residential and commercial properties.

The company is currently assisting Rennaisance Re in maintaining its offices in Hamilton.

"There is lots of work out there. Our niche is being able to cater to the residential market as larger contractors are not interested in smaller jobs," he says.

And customers can be assured of quality service which Mr. Minors says is one of his main focuses for the company.

This will be done by the effective and well trained team he has assembled.

The company currently employs nine tradespeople including carpenters, masons and plumbers.

"We are a clean, honest and cost effective company," says Mr. Minors.

His intention is to grow the company, and he aims to break into the facilities management area as he says there is a short fall in this type of service and it is his area of expertise having managed facilities for Government for the past several years.

Although the company is currently run from his Southampton home, Mr. Minors expects to establish an office in Hamilton next month in an effort to better serve his clients as the company grows.

Although the most important asset is the people who make up the company, Mr. Minors says that they also have much of the standard construction equipment and vehicles.

"Planned preventative maintenance is our focus," says Mr. Minors.

He says: "Bermuda is poised to enter that type of arena as generally people wait until their building is falling apart, meaning that it is usually breakdown maintenance.

His company will specialise in setting up programmes for preventative maintenance, which he says is significantly more cost effective.

He also said that many businesses who own their buildings do not have the expertise or manpower to maintain the facility, which is where the company steps in, allowing business to focus on their core business.

When asked how an economic slowdown would affect the company, Mr. Minors said: "Mr. bin Laden could be causing me some problems, I won't deny that."

However he said he was guarded but optimistic that Bermuda will manage itself through any impending crisis.

His goal now is to continue to grow the customer base and increase the number of staff so that they have the ability to respond to demand.

He is putting into practice all of his experience from the last three decades, especially in the realm of engineering and project management.

Mr. Minors admits that when he made the decision to move from a secure civil service job to the private sector, he was somewhat anxious, but says: "I had to do this for my own personal ambitions, and if I didn't, I would have always questioned: What if?"

And he says he has no regrets: "In fact, it has been quite exciting, rewarding and fulfilling to see the business grow in such a short time."