After decades of travelling throughout the UK during his career in construction, Tom Russell had decided to give up the commute and hang up his hard hat, but then a prestigious project landed on his doorstep to lure him out of retirement.

The new £83m Falkirk Campus of Forth Valley College is a 20 minute walk – or a four-minute drive – from Tom’s home in Bainsford, so when he was approached byIndeglas to oversee the installation of thousands of square metres of internal glazed screens throughout the facility, he was tempted to accept the offer. For Indeglas, it marked the return of a vastly experienced employee to head up one of the firm’s flagship projects of 2019.

 Tom, now 64, started working as an apprentice carpenter at Grangemouth Boat Yard after leaving school. He attended Telford, Anniesland and Falkirk Technical Colleges before completing his apprenticeship with Wimpey Homes, after which, his travels began in earnest.

 “I worked in London on and off for eight years, I’ve worked in Manchester and in Cardiff, and I’ve been all across Scotland,” he said.

 Tom spent 14 months with Indeglas – then known as Deko Scotland – during the construction of the multi-award winning City of Glasgow College, Cathedral Street which officially opened in August 2016. He then returned to a previous employer, UK contractor Astins, which took him through a series of projects in Glasgow, Edinburgh and Stirling.

 “I was not at an age for retiring, but in December 2017, Astins wanted me to go back down to London,” Tom said. “As I said, I wasn’t for retiring, but I wasn’t for going back down south again.”

 Headquartered in Cumbernauld, Indeglas has a 10-strong team working at Forth Valley College’s Falkirk Campus, which is due for completion in August. The new 20,148sq m facility will provide the headquarters for Forth Valley College, and will also be home to 2,000 full-time students in courses across a range of science and engineering fields.

 Jeanette MacIntyre, managing director of Indeglas, said the company was “delighted” to welcome Tom Russell back.

 “With skills shortages rife throughout many areas of the construction sector, we have been fortunate to secure Tom’s vast experience on this key project,” she said.

 “Skills such as his are in high demand. Tom’s impact will be felt beyond this particular project, as he has been able to share his knowledge as a mentor to some of our younger employees.”

 Established 18 years ago, Indeglas is a specialist contractor and sole distributor in the UK and Ireland for the products of award-winning glass manufacturer Deko of Denmark. Jeanette became the major shareholder of the company in 2010, and the name was changed to Indeglas in 2017.