Member Article

Contract wins fuel people growth at Newcastle's Houghton International

Electical engineering firm Houghton International has bolstered its business by taking on ten new recruits, taking staffing numbers above 100 for the first time.

The Newcastle-based business, which specialises in the repair, maintenance and life extension of rotating electrical assets, has now grown its workforce by 20% in the past year.

A multi million pound contract win with Great Western Railway, coupled with new orders from firms in Australia and Sri Lanka, has helped the company to recruit new staff.

Michael Mitten, CEO of Houghton International, explained: “As the business grows it is vital that we have the right mix of experienced operational and support staff to ensure that we continue to deliver the high quality, specialist services our customers expect from us.

“It’s equally vital that we continue to invest in training and apprentices to develop the skills the business needs for the future and its continued growth.

“The next stage in our strategy is to grow our sales team nationally and internationally to reach a wider market with our range of specialist high voltage coils, electro mechanical repair and condition monitoring services.

“We are currently recruiting for sales representatives nationally as well as North America, which will be followed by European, Australian and Asian sales representatives as part of our multi sector international growth strategy in line with Project 2020.”

Pamela Lamming, newly appointed HR manager, added: “Now is a really exciting time to be joining Houghton International, the business has a clear strategy to grow and is investing in people, machinery and facilities to help achieve this.

“With a strong order book and innovative new products in the pipeline, I’m confident that I am going to be kept busy over the coming months supporting the new recruits and developing our multi skilled workforce to keep up with future demand.”