Emtec expansion drive targets £60m sales

A BUILDING services company responsible for a string of high-profile projects has laid out a five-year plan to double in size as it celebrates its tenth anniversary.

Emtec is involved in the mantenance of the Emirates Arena for the Glasgow Commonweath Games. Picture: Robert Perry

Emtec Group, which is based in Uddingston, North Lanarkshire, is confident it can grow annual turnover from some £30 million to £60m within that time-frame. As a result, the current headcount numbering about 275 is likely to climb to 450.

Since its formation in 2003, the firm has diversified into areas such as energy, environmental services and signage. It has seen many of these more specialist sectors prove resilient amid the general construction industry downturn.

The company, which has worked on the Westport 102 office and Marie Curie hospice schemes in Edinburgh and Glasgow’s Emirates Arena, is also planning to grow its geographic footprint, having opened support operations in Bristol and Newton Aycliffe, near Darlington.

It is marking its ten years in business by moving its head  office into newly refurbished  offices covering 18,000sq ft at Tannochside Park.

Group director Scott Stevenson said the initial goal was to launch an office in Aberdeen, followed by a move into the south-east of England.

“Over the next five years we are looking to grow organically through the Central Belt and also open additional offices throughout the UK,” he told The Scotsman.

“The company has always benefited from repeat business and we now have a number of clients that operate UK-wide. However, we have been careful not to take business on if we can’t support it properly.

“We have a series of targets in place but everything has to be done at the right time. We are not going to get carried away with the turnover target.”

“The firm has about 275 staff and we also subcontract. I see that rising to 450 as the turnover increases.”

Stevenson – one of four shareholders who founded the business – pointed to the success of the Bristol office, which has been going for about a year and is already generating some £3.5m.

“Bristol is doing really well,” he said, “and we have opened in Newton Aycliffe. Now we are looking for an Aberdeen office and the right person to head that. We have won a couple of projects there and would rather have a presence on the ground.”

He added: “A lot of larger [rival] companies are centralising operations so that clients are effectively dealing with a call centre whereas we believe in a locally-focused national service.”

In 2007, Emtec acquired the petrol station refurbishment business of collapsed electrical contractor DH Morris, saving almost 50 jobs in the process.