BTS Fabrications targets growth following £1m investment and rebranding
A family-run business serving the construction industry aims to almost double turnover after investing more than £1m in new facilities.
BTS Fabrications has rebranded as BTS Facades and Fabrications, after spending on a new head office and equipment at its Newton Aycliffe premises.
More than 100 guests gathered for an open day at BTS’s impressive new premises, along Woodham Way at the heart of Aycliffe Business Park, as company directors outlined the firm’s ambitious plans.
BTS Fabrications is a well-established premier supplier of metal CWCT tested rainscreen systems and fabricated metal construction products.
Managing director, Phil Atkinson, said: “Seeing the number of people who turned up for our open day makes us immensely proud.
“My wife and company secretary, Marcia, has been the architect of this project, we’ve all worked very hard on it and to see it all come together is wonderful. It’s been a fantastic journey and I’m tingling with pride.”
After growing from six staff and a turnover of £375k in 2009, BTS now employs 48 full-time staff with an annual turnover of £5.1m.
But sales in the firm’s current financial year, ending in March 2019, expect to top £6.5m - and the aim is to achieve sales of more than £9m within three years.
BTS’ latest investment was part-funded with the help of Barclays and a grant worth £177k from the European Development Fund.
Atkinson added: “This is the biggest investment in the company’s history, but it doesn’t end there.
“We’ve just placed an order for a new £700k machine. It will keep going until we reach ‘Eutopia’ and have a fully-automated workflow.
“So we don’t see our growth stopping. As long as it’s sustainable, and we can justify the spend and recruitment, we’ll get more people.
“We’ve got the fundamentals of the business right. We all work very hard. I’m very hands-on, I still do all our buying and invoicing. Our production director is hands-on. We all work very hard and we’re all pulling in the same direction.”
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