07 May 2015
Drills – and diamonds – have proved to be a girl’s best friend as a UK construction figure landed a prestigious international first.
Julie White, the managing director of diamond drilling and concrete sawing specialist D-Drill – which has eight offices across the UK – has become the first female president of her world’s trade association in its 20 year history.
The International Association of Concrete Drillers and Sawers (IACDS) promotes best practice and shares information with members on the latest technology and developments within the industry.
Julie was announced as vice president two years ago and made the step up to the top role during the association’s AGM in Paris in April.
She said: “I am proud to be the first woman to be president of the IACDS. In business, it shouldn’t matter about gender, it’s about your ability and knowledge to do the job but there have been barriers to knock down across every industry.
“Construction is perceived to be a very male-dominated industry, particularly in specialisms such as concrete drilling, sawing and demolition.
“I believe my appointment as president of the IACDs proves that, actually, construction has taken great strides over recent years and is becoming an environment where women can thrive.
“Part of my presidency will be aimed at attracting more women into our industry but it certainly won’t dominate it because there are lots of other issues facing construction.
“In the UK, for example, it’s absolutely vital, that we get construction growing on a consistent basis to give companies such as mine the opportunity to invest and expand.
“If you look at growth in the past couple of years, construction has been up and down compared to other sectors.
“So we need to see greater investment in infrastructure and housing in order to get steady, consistent growth over the next few years.
“Then we can all invest with confidence in new talent to replace those people who left the industry for good during the recession.
“During my presidency I will ensure I speak up for construction – especially SMEs – to make sure our voice is heard by policy makers.”
Pictured – Back (left to right): Philippe Wingeier (Vice President, Switzerland), Norikazu Shibuya (Vice President, Japan), Julie White (president, UK) Lars Sandstrom (previous president, Sweden).
Front (left to right): Daniel Trachsel (former secretary, Sweden), Jose Blanco (new secretary, Spain)
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