Meet Team Champion: Darren, Workshop Manager
With almost 35 years of experience—and 12 of those spent at Champion—Darren plays a vital role in keeping our growing fleet safe, reliable and ready for the road.
When people think of Champion Groundworks, their minds naturally turn to the teams working across our sites, delivering major developments throughout the South West. Behind every successful project, however, is a remarkably diverse group of people whose skill, dedication and hard work keep the whole business moving.
Through our new Meet Team Champion series, we’re lifting the curtain on some of these roles and introducing the people who make an important contribution every day—often behind the scenes, but always central to our success.
This week, we’re heading inside the workshop to meet Darren Wilton, our Workshop Manager, based at our head office in Liskeard.
Keeping Team Champion moving
The safety of our people is—and always will be—our number one priority. That commitment extends far beyond our construction sites to every part of the working day, including the journeys our teams make to and from them.
With a fleet of more than 250 vehicles travelling across the region, keeping each one safe, dependable and properly maintained is a significant responsibility. It is also one we are fortunate to place in the very capable hands of Darren and his colleague Matt, whom we’ll introduce properly later in the series.
Our Liskeard head office is home to its own purpose-built vehicle maintenance garage, where the pair carry out the MOTs, servicing, repairs and routine maintenance required by our ever-growing fleet of vans and four-wheel-drive pickups.
For Darren, mechanics is much more than a job—it has been his lifelong career. With almost 35 years of experience under his belt, he brings an incredible depth of knowledge to the workshop, together with the calm, thorough approach that such an important role demands.
Twelve years as part of the team
Darren joined Champion 12 years ago, although his connection with the business began some time before that.
The Champion fleet had previously been managed by Eddie, father-in-law of our founder, Fred. When Eddie decided it was time to retire, he contacted Darren, who was working just up the road from our head office and had already completed work for Champion through his previous role.
Fortunately for us, Darren was ready to take on the challenge. More than a decade later, he remains a trusted and highly valued member of Team Champion, managing everything related to the maintenance and safety of our road vehicles.
Reflecting on what he values most about his role, Darren says it is Champion’s uncompromising approach to safety that continues to stand out.
“There is, and always has been, a genuine desire to make sure our vehicles are extremely well maintained and safe for our teams. We want to know that everyone can travel to and from their sites safely."
“There has never been any question of cutting corners in our workshop. You might be surprised by how many businesses allow cost to influence those decisions, so I’m really glad to be part of a team where safety always comes first."
“We don’t scrimp when buying vehicles or parts, and we don’t rush our work. We take the time needed to be completely confident that every vehicle leaving our workshop is safe and reliable.”
It is an approach that says a great deal about Darren and the pride he takes in his work. It also reflects a principle that runs throughout Champion: looking after our people properly means investing in the equipment, expertise and time needed to keep them safe.
Restoring a piece of Champion history
Darren’s passion for vehicles does not end when the working day is over. Following in the footsteps of his father and grandfather, he can usually be found with a restoration project underway in the background, bringing classic vehicles back to life with patience and care.
One particularly special project connects his love of restoration with the earliest days of Champion Groundworks.
Some may remember the replica of Fred’s first Champion van, which was given to him by his wife, Donna, for their 25th wedding anniversary. Complete with the original Champion Groundworks telephone number, the Morris 1000 van began its new chapter as little more than a shell.
Darren is now gradually restoring it to a fully working vehicle—and we cannot wait to see it back on the road when it is ready.
The project is a fitting tribute to the original van Fred purchased in 1983, the year Champion was founded. Already 10 years old at the time—and despite possessing a few less-than-desirable features, including holes in the floor—it proved to be a faithful companion throughout the company’s early years.
Today, more than four decades later, Champion may have a fleet of over 250 modern vehicles, but the values behind them remain unchanged: reliability, hard work and looking after the people who rely on them.
Darren and our workshop team are an essential part of that story. Their care and attention ensure our vehicles—and, most importantly, our people—can travel safely wherever their work takes them.
Just across the road from the vehicle workshop, another specialist team looks after Champion’s extensive fleet of plant and machinery. We’ll be introducing them in a future edition of Meet Team Champion, so stay tuned.
