DFC Services is an integration of several well known Nottinghamshire based companies comprising DiFuria, Loates and Smiths whose origins can be dated back to the 1950’s.
The MD Tony Di.Furia amalgamated the varying earthworks elements of those businesses comprising the road, groundworks and pond construction in 2007 to fulfil his ambition to build a modern competitive construction business able to compete in today’s business environment.
Tony Di.Furia, says, “About three or four years ago, the housing market collapsed and various companies that now had excavation and earthmoving equipment sitting idle, tried to move into our markets but gradually many of them gave up and got rid of their equipment. Nevertheless, we stuck to our guns and gradually began to pick up new clients. As a result, last year was a reasonable year for us and we were even able to expand a little.”
One area into which DFC have moved is into water features, wetland creation and other environmental features. One of the first major projects was on a farm in Cambridgeshire, where the client wanted to create a “water feature” down a hillside. There was an existing flow of water at the top and a further one that took the water away at the bottom of the hill.
Tony explains, “This was a fantastic opportunity for us as we were involved from the start. With our knowledge of earthmoving and excavation relating to water projects, we were able to work closely with the client from day one and, in some cases to offer suggestions to overcome problems that weren’t immediately obvious from the drawings.”
The project started with a 10-acre lake at the top, followed by a series of smaller lakes and ponds as the water travelled down the hillside. DFC had to do all of the setting out and excavation and this provided an ideal opportunity to use the Scanlaser equipment mounted on their diggers for the first time. This device makes the establishment of the correct bank levels much simpler whilst excavating complex batter slopes with irregular profiles– the laser does it all. This device can even work under water to establish the depths and levels being excavated, for example when taking sediment out of existing ponds.
One of the problems with this job was that, on the original plans, there was a pond with a boggy, wetland area alongside and this would have been close to the farmhouse, with the possibility of mosquitoes and unpleasant smells. By carefully marking it all out, this area was moved further away and the problem obviated.
Tony concluded, “The client was so pleased with what we achieved, that he recommended us to another farmer. In this sort of project we work closely with the RSPB, the Environment Agency, Natural England and other conservation bodies. We have a good reputation and are now working on wetland creation. We have a great pride in what we are doing, we have achieved some spectacular results and had a great deal of fun doing it!”
For further information please telephone 01427 848712 or visit www.dfcservices.co.uk.
