SOCOTEC holds inaugural Air & Emissions Conference

Mon 03/30/2026 - 09:38

SOCOTEC UK & Ireland’s Air and Emissions team came together for its first-ever conference, held between 12^th and 13^th March 2026.

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Taking place at Burton Rugby Football Club (BRFC), and SOCOTEC’s UK headquarters in Bretby, the vision of Air & Emissions’ Operations Director, Mark Woodruff came to life as the event, unofficially known as “Stack fest”, took place.

We all work the same of jobs, but we work in silos. There’s rarely an opportunity for the East Kilbride office to meet the Romford team or for the Naas office to meet the Cirencester team and best practices can often remain localised rather than shared. This two-day event was designed to change that, creating a forum for knowledge exchange, relationship building and unified strategic direction.”

Mark Woodruff, Air & Emissions’ Operations Director

Mark worked alongside Lynne Allman, Bids & Commercial Support Manager and Business Development Coordinator, Sarah Murphy, to create an agenda that balanced performance review, strategic vision and team-bonding. The conference reinforced SOCOTEC's commitment to operational excellence and workforce cohesion.

Speakers at Stack fest 2026 included:

SOCOTEC UK & Ireland CEO, Matthew Marriott, who opened proceedings by articulating his non-negotiables and charting the business's strategic direction, ensuring all team members understood organisational priorities.
Environment & Safety’s Managing Director, David Gough, delivered a presentation on the broader SOCOTEC ecosystem, helping the gathered Air & Emissions team understand their wider role within the larger corporate structure.
Mark led a review of the team’s 2025's financial performance across all regions, with strong gross profit margins in the North and Southeast in particular.
Representatives from IT discussed the upcoming implementation of Microsoft Dynamics, signalling SOCOTEC's continued investment in digital transformation for the Air & Emissions division.
Innovations Manager, Andy Tiffen, led a session on ongoing innovations, including ambitious plans to streamline data processes and eliminate duplication errors through centralised SharePoint/Teams infrastructure and automated reporting workflows.

While looking ahead to the future, the Air & Emissions team took time to celebrate key achievements among colleagues. Recognition was given to new starters, individuals who successfully passed their MCERTS Level 1 or Level 2 examinations, and team members who received Long Service Awards for their continued dedication:

5 years: Andrew Ten-Broeke (Home/Romford) and Aidan Whitney (Naas)
10 years: Lynne Allman (Home/Bretby), Dominic Eaton (Altrincham), and Alan Lloyd (Altrincham)
15 years: Owen May (Cirencester)
25 years: John Ward (Cirencester)

Special recognition was saved for Julie Smith, who is celebrating almost 20 years with the company and approaching retirement early next year.

Following the conference at BRFC, the team enjoyed an evening meal together, helping to reaffirm the team bonding that had begun during the day. The second day began with a visit to SOCOTEC's head office in Bretby, which saw a tour of the adjoining labs take place.

It was great to see our team all in one place together. Stack fest demonstrated that investing in team unity, knowledge sharing and celebrating our team is so incredibly important, and we will endeavour to make this a regular event in the future.

Mark Woodruff, Air & Emissions’ Operations Director