Over the past 30 years, Robert Collard has grown from a sole trader repairing diggers and lorries in his front garden to the CEO of Collard Group, one of the largest privately-owned waste management companies in the south of England. As our 30th anniversary year draws to a close, we’re taking a look back at some of our highlights of 2024.
Our bumper year in numbers
2024 has been a huge success for Collard Group, and we’ve achieved some impressive numbers across the business. These include:
- Supplying over half a million tonnes of sand, shingle, topsoil, crushed concrete and other aggregates to customer
- Delivered and collected over 100,000 skips and RoRos
- Emptied more than 80,000 trade waste bins
- Diverted over 1 million tonnes of waste from landfill
- Secured another 70 demolition and earthworks jobs
- Our HGVs have travelled nearly 6.5 million kilometers in 2024
- 93 new emplyees joined the Collard team
- Three of our apprentices fully qualified
- Two more apprentices joined, as part of our commitment to 30 apprentices by 2030
Investing in our business
These impressive figures wouldn’t have been possible without Robert’s ongoing investment into the business.
From fixing lorries in his front garden 30 years ago to our six-acre site at Eversley Haulage Park as well as our 28-acre urban quarry and nine recycling centres across the south of England, Robert’s continued investment into our infrastructure has played a key role in Collard Group’s growth and success.
As well as the focus on our infrastructure, we’re proud to re-invest up to £10 million annually into our fleet, plant and equipment. This helps us maintain our position as an industry leader, ensuring we’re always running the latest kit with the highest safety specifications, maximum fuel efficiency, and environmental credentials.
What’s more, we’ve continued to invest in our people. We wouldn’t be where we are today without our employees – many of whom have worked with us for years, and even decades. Collard is a great place to work, which not only helps to retain our existing team but also to attract the very best people for new roles as our business grows. As part of our commitment to the future of the business and the wider industry, we’re on track for our target to see 30 apprentices through our doors by 2030.
Awards success
Our investment in the business has not only had a tangible impact on our success this year – it’s also been recognised through a series of award nominations and wins. These include Entrepreneurial Business of the Year at the Thames Valley 250 Awards – which recognised our innovation, sustainable growth, and market impact – and Robert recently being named Entrepreneur of the Year at the Hampshire Business Awards, where his exceptional leadership and vision were celebrated.
As well as award wins, we’re proud to have received our FORS Gold accreditation once again this year. This accreditation demonstrates our ongoing commitment to ensuring driver and vehicle safety. We’re proud to achieve FORS Gold every year, with all of our drivers completing the additional training required to meet these standards.
Collard Racing
Collard Racing had a phenomenal season in 2024, with Robert and Ricky making the ultimate father-son dream team! Together they won the 2024 British GT Championship – making them the second ever father and son team to achieve this.
Robert also competed in the 2024 European GT Sprint Championship with teammate Sandy Mitchell, scoring five podiums from the last six races of the season.
We’re also incredibly proud of Robert for being nominated for the prestigious National Racing Driver of the Year award, showing that his talent and dedication is recognised across the sport.
It’s been a brilliant 30th anniversary year for all of us here at Collard Group, and we’d like to take this opportunity to thank everyone who has been involved in our success. Here’s to the next 30 years!
