Shropshire Star

Loyal Dave to retire after 44 years at Besblock

A long-serving member of staff at a family-run business is retiring after 44 years with the firm.

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Dave Moore, 73, is retiring from concrete block manufacturers Besblock this week after working for the company longer than some of its employees have been alive.

Birmingham-born Dave has worked at Besblock since 1974 when he moved to Telford with his wife, Christine, at just 29-years-old.

He said: “We moved to Telford in the 70s when it was quite an up and coming place, my friend was working at Besblock and got me a job driving the lorries.

“I would drive all over the country, whether it was London, Manchester or here in the Midlands.

“After a health scare, I moved onto working in the factory side of things before helping launch the business into a new field in 2006. I went on an air leakage testing course, and brought it back to Besblock and it’s just grown since then. We go into homes and check that there is nothing leaking from walls or floors – it’s quite a big part of the business now.”

Besblock, which is based in Halesfield in Telford, has seen huge growth since Dave started in 1974.

“When I started, there was a team of 10, now there’s over 50 of us,” he said.

“We used to be up the road, and now we’re on a much bigger state-of-the-art site, where we can do more projects and continue to grow.”

Besblock produces award-winning concrete blocks and is one of the nation’s leading construction firms.

Nigel Chadwick, production director at Besblock, said: “Formed in 1972, Besblock is a long-established family firm, and Dave has been here since almost the beginning. His 44 years of service is an absolutely fantastic achievement, and one he should be really proud of.”

“It’s really rewarding to have such loyal and long-serving staff like Dave, and we fully appreciate the dedication and hard work put in by him over the decades.

“His years at Besblock span more than the lifetime of some of our younger members of staff, and although we’re sad to see him go, we’re excited for him to enjoy his retirement – he has definitely earned it.”

Dave, who lives in Newport, will be spending his retirement caravanning around the UK with Christine, who he celebrated his golden anniversary with last year.

The pair will also be busy looking after their grandchildren, and two new great-grandchildren as his granddaughter is expecting twins later this year.