CECA profiles I&H Brown project manager Finlay Couston in 30 Under 30 campaign

The Civil Engineering Contractors Association (CECA) has featured I&H Brown Ltd project manager Finlay Couston in its 30 Under 30 campaign, citing his work on a rail overbridge at Winchburgh and the contractor's largest wind farm project to date.

CECA said the campaign celebrates young talent across civil engineering as the association marks its 30th anniversary.

According to CECA, Couston completed his civil engineering degree in 2017 and has since progressed from graduate site engineer to project manager at I&H Brown Ltd. He now oversees a £10m project, with responsibility for safety, environmental performance, quality, programme delivery and cost control.

Alongside his site work, CECA said, Couston mentors graduate apprentices. The association said his enthusiasm for tackling challenging projects, his attention to detail and his commitment to supporting colleagues make him an example of the opportunities the industry offers.

The Winchburgh bridge

CECA's profile points to a rail overbridge at Winchburgh as one of Couston's headline projects. I&H Brown's own news item on a Winchburgh railway bridge contract does not name Couston, so the link between the two is CECA's; the contractor's account does, however, show what that type of job involved for the firm.

The company said it secured the railway bridge contract, together with a contract for the Eastern Distributor Road, from its longstanding client Winchburgh Developments. The railway bridge, I&H Brown said, was the first railway bridge project the company had ever delivered.

The bridge was let under an NEC Option A contract with a 47-week programme. The work required 14 reinforced concrete bored piles either side of the railway to support the abutments, and I&H Brown said close coordination with Network Rail would be needed throughout. The company said the main bridge beams were delivered to site on a Thursday, 2 February.

The Eastern Distributor Road contract involved building a 450m section of road, the company said.

Stranoch Wind Farm

CECA also credits Couston with work on I&H Brown's largest wind farm project to date. I&H Brown's own update on Stranoch Wind Farm describes the scheme in those terms but does not name Couston, so the link between the two is CECA's.

I&H Brown said work at Stranoch started in February 2024. The 102MW scheme, for EDF Renewables, will generate enough renewable energy to power more than 56,000 homes once complete, according to the contractor.

I&H Brown's scope includes borrow pit operations, about 17.5km of new site tracks, crane hardstandings and the turbine foundations. The company said it has completed all 20 turbine foundations, placing 12,500 cubic metres of concrete and 1,600 tonnes of steel on site. The final turbine base, poured on 24 July, contained 810 cubic metres of concrete.

The firm says it has built more than 40 wind farms for clients. It was founded in 1964 by brothers Ian and Hardie Brown, who at the time farmed 90 acres in Fife.

The anniversary campaign

CECA's 30 Under 30 series runs alongside a companion series, 30 Projects for 30 Years, which the association said will highlight the schemes that have built Britain since its foundation. Both form part of CECA's programme marking 30 years of working for infrastructure.

Couston completed his civil engineering degree in 2017 and, according to CECA, now oversees a £10m project for I&H Brown Ltd.