Member Article

Darlington couple celebrate a decade in business with ten thousandth oven clean

A successful Darlington couple are a match made in heaven in both their personal and professional lives as they celebrate ten successful years of running their oven valeting company with their ten thousandth oven clean.

Derek and Debbie Lancaster, owners of oven valeting company Ovenu Darlington, have never looked back since starting out in business in 2003, and now the pair clean around 1,000 ovens a year.

Derek, 51, was a chef in the RAF for 26 years, while Debbie, 52, worked in child care before they set up in business.

Derek said: “Business has remained strong over the past 10 years, which we are both delighted with. You have to be committed in this line of work because it is hard, but things have paid off and it has been an enjoyable experience for the both of us.”

The opportunity to create their own schedules and be their own bosses is what drew the pair to starting out in business.

“After being in the same job for so long, we were interested in working for ourselves and Ovenu was the ideal fit. Our schedule remains flexible and business has been really good to us over the years.”

Ovenu Darlington provides an environmentally-friendly oven valeting service to homes, letting agencies, estate agents and holiday park camps across the Darlington area, as well as covering Bedale, Leyburn, Northallerton, Richmond, Catterick Garrison, Barnard Castle, Newton Aycliffe, Bishop Auckland and Spennymoor.

Derek and Debbie’s business is part of a UK-wide franchise operation made up of more than 100 UK franchisees.

Rik Hellewell, founder of Ovenu, said: “I am delighted for both Derek and Debbie that they have celebrated this significant milestone, which just goes to show that dedicated people can use the Ovenu franchise model to create a successful small business.

“It is clearly evident that the couple are amiable and personable people and a pleasure to have working in homes around the Darlington area. To have undertaken ten thousand jobs over the years is awesome and I personally wish them further success over the coming years”.

The Ovenu valeting process involves dismantling key components of an oven such as the door, interior panels, fan and shelves and placing them into design-registered tank equipment, which uses safe, non-caustic products to clean the oven parts. The whole process takes around three to four hours and leaves the oven, hob and extractor in immaculate condition.

For more information about Ovenu, or to make a booking, call: 01677 427300, or visit: www.ovenudarlington.net.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Recognition PR Business Team .