“There is a real difference between erecting a commercial building and putting up an agricultural building for a farmer,” explained operations director Tom Foster at Burden Bros Construction Ltd.

“Commercial clients typically provide detailed drawings and specifications to guide project delivery, but with farmers it’s more personal. You are working with them to improve the family farm, which may have been their home for decades and been passed down through the generations.

“There is a real sense of trust there, and respecting and understanding that helps you develop a close working relationship.”

Developing that kind of close relationship is important for Tom and the rest of the Burden Bros Construction team, and is made easier by his own agricultural background.

Tom grew up on the family farm, Moonfield Farm at Sharsted in Kent, and has spent a lifetime immersed in agriculture as well as labouring, co-ordinating projects and generally being ‘hands-on’.  It helps Tom develop an instant rapport with the farmer and understand what he or she wants and needs to achieve.

It’s the kind of relationship building that has seen Burden Bros Construction grow strongly over the past ten years, enjoying a repeat business rate of around 80% while carrying out close to 110 building projects in the home counties during that time.

The company specialises in groundworks, civil engineering and agricultural and commercial buildings, with a client base that includes arable, fruit and vineyard farmers, equestrian specialists and sheep and cattle farmers.

Burden Bros Construction’s ‘concept to completion’ ethos sees the team able to help with everything from the initial discussions through planning, groundworks, building and fitout, while their attention to detail, professionalism and construction design and management (CDM) expertise, along with all the right accreditations, allows them to take charge of any agricultural construction project.

Recent projects have included a new 4,000-tonne grain store for A J Bray & Sons Ltd at Ham Farm, Faversham, a new cold store building for A Hinge & Sons Ltd at Rushetts Farm, Norton, a new 2,800-tonne grain store for John Boyd Farms Ltd in Lenham and a cutting edge development at Oaklands Equestrian in Appledore comprising an ‘American-style’ barn, a hay barn and an outdoor riding school with indoor ménage.

The company has erected a straw building and three cattle buildings for livestock, complete with IAE handling equipment, for Rand Contracting Ltd in Cambridgeshire and is also in demand for the construction of anaerobic digestion plants, having acted as principal contractor and completed the groundworks and civils for five in various locations across the UK. In Headcorn, Kent, Burden Bros Construction doubled the on-site storage for Sunmagic Juices Ltd, adding a 24m X 14m steel portal frame extension to the existing building.

While Burden Bros Construction is just 10 years old, it has the benefit not just of Tom’s extensive experience in farming but of the Burden Bros group, which dates back to the 1960s and is well known across the agricultural industry.

The construction company has grown to 30 full time workers on the ground and a further six office staff, all of which came about almost by accident.

Tom’s inspiration to form a limited company came when he was working for Burden Bros Contracting back in 2007 and had laid a concrete entrance road at the company’s headquarters, Old Rides Farm, Eastchurch, on the Isle of Sheppey.

“As a farmer’s son I can pretty much turn my hand to anything practical and I went on to farmyards and cattle corrals and then erected a building,” he recalled. Neighbours started noticing, and in 2009 Tom and some of his colleagues were asked to construct a concrete yard, silage lagoon and clamp for PHR Farms in Brabourne, Kent.

“We used to do building work for most of the year and then drop everything to drive tractors at harvest time,” Tom said.

As the building work increased, the parent company backed the initiative by setting up Burden Bros Construction Ltd, at which point Tom was appointed construction manager and brought on board the vastly experienced Paul Kelk as contracts manager.

“From that point on we have worked hard to establish the company as a reliable, professional, competitively priced building contractor with a focus on quality and a commitment to working in partnership with the farmer,” Tom concluded.