Andy’s Long Commute Drives Service Innovation

Within five years, Lanes for Drains had expanded to Greater Manchester, South Yorkshire, and the East Midlands, with 100 employees and a turnover that had shot up to £5m.

“These were very exciting times for my father and everyone in the business,” said Wayne, who joined the business in 1993 to head up operational expansion.

“Every contract win was celebrated. There was a clear desire to expand, if the right people could be brought in to help run the business, and every day brought a new challenge.”

One of those people was Wayne’s sister, Michelle Ringland. She joined Lanes in 1996, as marketing manager, and would remain for the next 21 years.

Then, in 1997, the Earnshaw family, and Lanes were delivered a huge blow. Allan died from a massive heart attack. It was at this point that Wayne took over the business as managing director.

Despite the terrible loss, under Wayne’s leadership, Lanes has continued to thrive and grow. His father’s engineering and entrepreneurial skills instilled an innovative, can-do spirit at Lanes, which continues.

With a strong focus on supporting commercial, local government, and water utility clients, Lanes has always been willing to invest in the best specialist vehicles and sewer maintenance technologies.

Lanes has a national pipe lining and sewer rehabilitation centre in Manchester. It has major drainage and structural maintenance contracts with Transport for London, and also works for Network Rail.

In 2021, it took advantage of digital Cloud technology to open a new national CCTV survey processing centre, also at its site in Eccles.

And Lanes continues to fight fatbergs, and does much more, for water utility companies across the UK.

Its latest venture is Lanes Infrastructure. Founded in 2018, it installs broadband infrastructure for a rapidly expanding portfolio of digital technology companies.

That all adds up to a business with a truly national reach, with 36 depots and operational hubs and a turnover over £225m.

What is interesting, perhaps, is that key people associated with these successes are born and bred in Lancashire, and have worked for Lanes for a long time.

“We’re proud to still be a family business,” says Wayne. “We have a lot of long-serving colleagues, because we look after people and give them great opportunities. Our success is their success.”

Andy Brierley was born in Lancashire. He lives in Lancashire. He just spends a lot of his time in Slough, Berkshire.

He is one of Lanes Group’s longest serving employees and leads its largest and most dynamic division.

Andy joined the business in 1993, just a year after it was founded, and long before it moved its main North West operation to its highly-visible site next to the M602 in Eccles.

He is now a board director, heading up the Lanes wastewater maintenance operation for Thames Water, Britain’s largest water company.

He mobilised the workforce when Lanes won its first contract in 2012. Lanes has gone on to become the water company’s sole wastewater maintenance partner, winning extra services to create a £100m+ operation.

Andy is widely respected as one of the most innovative, driven and inspiring leaders in the water industry. As someone who started on the shopfloor, he cares deeply about the wellbeing of Lanes people.

When a brain-storming session threw up the idea of a wellbeing app to ask every colleague how happy they felt every time they came to work, Andy made sure it was in place in less than six weeks.

The initiatives has gone on to help scores of people get help through a mental health practitioner, employed directly by Lanes, winning multiple awards along the way.

Andy is quick to praise colleagues. He says: “I have the privilege of working with brilliant people who do amazing things every day. They’re the ones who really make it happen for our customers.”

Andy is now taking the same “disruptive” approach into the broadband industry, heading up Lanes Infrastructure, now one of the UK’s fastest-growing infrastructure installation specialists.

Setting new standards, breaking down barriers, ripping up outdated rule books – a talent Lanes founder Allan Earnshaw spotted 30 years ago continues to shape the company’s future.