About 1st HORIZON

1st Horizon at a Glance

OUR ORGANISATION IN SUMMARY

1ST HORIZON is a truly multidisciplinary service aggregator and technical consultant. We provide many complimentary services that support projects for both the Natural & Built Environment. At 1ST HORIZON, our primary focus is client satisfaction, which we aim to maintain through the coherent delivery of high-quality services, project coordination and strategic management.

Our unique ability to deploy a breadth of specialisms to the same project results in the problem-free coordination of works.

A single point of contact and harmonious collaboration, both on and off-site, maximise quality and enhance the client experience.

Our Story

1ST HORIZON was founded in 2006 by managing director Jim Garside, a degree-qualified land surveyor. The company was born out of the construction and petrochemical industries, with our initial experiences working on gas pipelines and large-scale civil projects.

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Drawing on our robust foundation and technical knowledge, we have shown consistent growth year-on-year since we were established. This has been achieved despite the economic crisis in 2007 and the global pandemic in 2020-2021. We believe this is a testament to our determination, hard work and resilience.

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We started as a conventional land survey operation with a purely geomatics background and experience. Our ability to predict changing market trends (and our flexibility to react to these changes) has meant that we have continually followed opportunities to improve and innovate. This flexibility has allowed us to maintain 1ST HORIZON’s growth trend and facilitate significant diversification within the organisation.

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Our skills and experience in the industry have helped us to create our bespoke office facility, a project that was entirely self-managed. We now work from a truly unique office environment that is a testament to our dedication and perseverance.

Today, our business is multifaceted and diverse. We are now positioned strategically to support our clients on a wide range of projects. We offer project coordination, management and consultancy as well as the delivery of many specialist services under 5 distinct categories. These classifications include Measurement, Environmental, Digital, Equipment and Construction.

We continue to expand and develop our business, and we are consistently working towards our key company values of…

QUALITY – INNOVATION – PROFESSIONALISM – ADAPTABILITY

Our History

2025

20th Year – The Journey Continues

Aim to cement our position as a leading “Service Aggregator & Technical Consultant“ as we head towards our 20th year in operation. We anticipate sustained & significant business development.

2024

Multidisciplinary Organisation

Establish ourselves as a truly Multidisciplinary organisation. Unifying skills, knowledge & technology to support design, development and infrastructure projects.

2023

Project Management Focus

We developed our skills, knowledge and capacity for project coordination / consultancy. Creating a platform for growth with the establishment of improved systems and processes.

2022

Geoenvironmental Services

Significant growth for ecological services and the Introduction of our Geoenvironmental department to supplement our historic service offerings.

2021

Drive for Diversification

A new Environmental Division was formed. Driven by client demand and a realisation that a more diverse business is a stronger business. Many new facets were added to our service portfolio.

2020

Unprecedented Times

Through an extraordinary period, we reacted positively to global challenges and promoted more efficient ways to operate. Strangely the result was a significant enhancement to business performance.

2019

Digital & Smart Assets

Through relationships with a diverse range of digital partners, an ecosystem of technology-driven organisations was formed. Aim to facilaite innovative smart asset management solutions.

2018

BESPOKE BUSINESS MANAGEMENT

In 2018 focus was on the implementation of a bespoke business management system and stringent quality controls to support our continued growth.

2017

OFFICE COMPLETION & REBRAND

The completion of our new office facility was an ideal time to develop a new brand identity in line with the company’s evolution.

2016

CCTV & DRAINAGE SURVEYS

The utility survey division expanded to incorporate CCTV & Drainage surveys thus enhancing utility survey work flows.

2015

START BESPOKE HEAD OFFICE BUILD

Our ambition was to create a bespoke space, with all items on our wish list considered, and to provide a unique working environment.

2014

3D SURVEYOR APPRENTICESHIP

The lack of relevant training courses kick-started our own apprenticeship & recruitment initiative in the field of 3D measurement.

2013

MOVE TO ECO OFFICES

Due to continued expansion we moved to larger “Carbon Negative” premises where energy was harvested solely from renewable sources.

2012

BIM DEPARTMENT ESTABLISHED

Building Information Modelling division created in response to changes in industry trends and government initiatives.

2011

UTILITY SURVEY DIVISION INTRODUCED

Dedicated utility survey division formed to carry out the mapping of underground services to augment our service portfolio.

2010

PARTNERSHIP WITH FARO EUROPE

FARO appointed 1ST HORIZON to be their sole recommended service, training, and hire partner for the 3D laser scanning market.

2009

PUBLIC SECTOR FOCUS

With the continuation of the economic slowdown, we established strong relationships on pre-approved public-sector projects.

2008

3D LASER SCANNING ADOPTED

New technology was acquired and our 3D laser scanning department formed. This now constitutes a major part of our core business.

2007

PETROCHEMICAL PROJECTS

Our first contracts were on gas infrastructure projects including high pressure pipelines & storage facilities.

2006

1ST HORIZON INCORPORATED

The company was founded in 2006 by MD Jim Garside in order to provide turnkey measurement solutions for the construction industry.

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Vision & Values

“Our vision is to be recognised as a top-tier, multidisciplinary consultancy providing professional services & project management for planning, feasibility, design, development and infrastructure projects. We aim to achieve this through exceptional customer service, quality & innovation.”

Customer Focus

Complete customer satisfaction is our aim. We continuously & proactively aim to correctly identify customer requirements. We meet these requirements by providing high-quality services using the very latest methods to ensure optimum efficiency.

Our People

We recognise that people are fundamental to the success of our business. We are committed to becoming an “employer of choice”, providing a working environment where people are encouraged & supported to develop their skills to maximum potential.

Opportunism & Flexibility

We identify changing market demands within our profession, thereby developing products and services which are continually adapted in response to fluctuating trends.

Development & Innovation

By actively promoting CPD, we encourage our employees to provide creative ideas & solutions for our clients. Through such development and innovation, we will maintain our position at the leading edge of our profession.

Brand & Identity

Evolution of the brand

Our brand and identity have developed over the last 19 years, tracking our evolution as a business.

Earlier identities became outdated & no longer portrayed the image that reflects 1ST HORIZON today. We feel our current brand now signifies our ambition for quality, innovation & professionalism.

During our most recent rebrand, we considered major changes to the logo and brand. Although the adaptations we agreed were significant, we were mindful to retain key elements of our old identity, such as the orange colour and the horizon geometry.

Our name & Logo

We chose the word “1ST” as a prefix for our company name in line with our vision to be regarded as the number 1 brand in our field.

The word “HORIZON” can mean “The limit of a person’s knowledge or experience”. At 1ST HORIZON, we see no limits – We are always striving to improve and grow. This is represented in our current logo by the horizontal break in the circular band.

The “1” & “H” are merged in our logo to create a graphic stamp. The triangle extracted from the “H” then becomes the serif of the “1”.

Brand Values

QUALITY
PRECISION
PROFESSIONALISM
BEST IN CLASS
CAPABILITY
CAPACITY

Brand Attributes

ADAPTABLE
SPECIALIST
DEDICATED
DYNAMIC
INNOVATIVE
METICULOUS

Objectives & Strategy

COMPANY OBJECTIVES

Maintain our excellent safety record and continually seek to eliminate risk.
Sustain our historic growth trend for year-on-year expansion.
Continue to improve the delivery of our work through the development of our quality assurance & business management systems.
Improve efficiency through Innovation & new technology.
Expand our product portfolio into other complementary services to cement our position as a truly multidisciplinary service aggregator and technical consultant.

OUR STRATEGIC PLAN

Develop existing client relationships and cultivate new relationships with prospective clients.
Recruit personnel who will thrive in an organisation where excellence is extensively promoted. Develop and nurture the skills of existing staff.
Promote our new brand identity & focus our marketing strategy on generating awareness and emphasising our quality of service.
Develop strategic partnerships and long-term affiliations.
Identify and adapt to changes in market trends, allowing 1ST HORIZON to deliver the most up-to-date solutions for clients.