Member Article

Darlington company launches in Edinburgh as business thrives

Darlington-based Stone Technical Services has opened a new office in Scotland as it continues to grow around the UK and create jobs in the North East.

The family-run company, which specialises in a range of high level repair, maintenance and conservation services, has seen a significant rise in the number of new contracts it is securing throughout Scotland having recently won around £250,000 worth of work.

As a result, Darlington brothers Dave and Grahame Stone, who launched the business in 1998, decided the time was right to open a dedicated Scotland office in Edinburgh city centre.

The opening of the office will lead to further recruitment for Stone Technical Services which last year created 10 new jobs for local people taking its workforce to 30. It’s hoped around five new positions will be created in the next twelve months.

Amongst its new contracts in Scotland, Stone has secured a significant amount of work with South Ayrshire Council carrying out a variety of conservation, restoration and general maintenance on historic buildings, schools and public amenities.

One of the projects includes the restoration of Stumpy Tower in Girvan, which was originally built as a prison in 1827 and is now a Grade B listed building in the South Ayrshire town.

The new Edinburgh office adds to Stone’s UK-wide network which includes its HQ on Kellaw Road in Darlington and sites near Stockport in Cheshire, close to Piccadilly Circus in central London and Pinner in Middlesex.

Managing director, Dave Stone, said: “We’ve seen a real growth in Scotland this year, securing more work than we predicted. We thought now was a good time to open an office in Edinburgh as it’s a central location with good transport links and allows us to work effectively in the region.

“A lot of the new work is with South Ayrshire Council working on a range of interesting projects and we hope that this variety of work will showcase our skills, services and expertise so we can continually branch into new areas, creating jobs and opportunities along the way.”

So far in 2012, Stone Technical Services has secured a number of significant contracts working all over the UK on buildings such as North Tees Hospital in Stockton, the Royal Courts of Justice in London, Merrrion House in Leeds, the Piece Hall in Halifax, Hexham Abbey and Lumley Castle.

Stone is also the approved contractor managing lightning protection on St Paul’s Cathedral and works with housing associations on developments, on historic structures, churches, war memorials, schools, offices and car parks as well as with councils, English Heritage, the National Trust and Network Rail to carry out a range of maintenance, safety and conservation projects.

ENDS

Editor’s Notes: -

• Stone Technical Services was established in 1998 by brothers Dave and Grahame Stone.
• In 2011, Stone opened a new office in Cheshire and re-located its London site to a more central location near Piccadilly Circus, adding to its office in Pinner in Middlesex and its headquarters in Darlington.
• Stone specialises in all aspects of high level maintenance, lightning conductor installation and steeplejack services as well as restoration and masonry refurbishment projects on churches, museums, clock towers, castles, spires and historic buildings.
• The company works all over the UK on a variety of high profile buildings such as St Paul’s Cathedral and Selfridges in London and for well known industrial clients such as INEOS Plant Utilities and Teesside Power Station.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Anna Addison .