Andrews Sykes on the move in its 50th year
THE head office of Wolverhampton-based heating, air conditioning and pump hire company Andrews Sykes is on the move within the city as it celebrates a half century in business.
It will transfer from Premier House in Darlington Street, where the specialist hire company has been for 20 years, to its new home at St David's Court during the summer.
All of the existing 40-strong head office team will be making the move to the newly-refurbished building.
Andrews Sykes held a celebration lunch to mark its 50 years in existence in the WV1 restaurant at the Molineux Stadium on April 16.
Guests
Among the 50 guests - to mark 50 years - were people who work closely with the company in France and Holland including agents and suppliers.
Managing director Paul Wood, who has been with the company for 36 years since the age of 16, said a strength of Andrews Sykes was that it had many long-serving experienced staff , some who had worked for no other business during their careers.
Mr Wood, who has been MD for nine years, added: "We are very proud of the heritage of the business."
The company had a display of heaters and air conditioners from its fleet of more than 20,000 items for hire on show at the celebration lunch.
Andrews Sykes, which now employs more than 500 in the UK, operates from 25 sites across the country from the north of Scotland to Devon.
Founder John Andrews, of Pattingham,who started the business as Andrews Industrial Equipment in Dudley Road, Wolverhampton, in 1964, was also at the lunch.
"I am proud to see the company flourishing and becoming more international by the year.
"It now offers an expanded range of products and provides a complete environmental service for hire," said Mr Andrews, who retired in 1991.
Another special guest was former British rally champion Russell Brookes, who was sponsored for 17 years by Andrews Heat for Hire.
Mr Brookes, aged 69, from Alcester, said he had been proud to race under the company's sponsorship for so many years.
"They started sponsoring me as an amateur in 1974 to celebrate the company's 10th anniversary," he said.
Andrews Sykes was formed in 1988 from the merger of Andrews, which then specialised in temporary heating and air conditioning, with Sykes Pumps.
Today it has grown to have an annual turnover of more than £50 million.
Mr Wood said that Andrew Sykes had some of its equipment assembled by sub-contractors in Wolverhampton.
The company, which started out importing steam cleaners and portable heaters from North America, now also offers a range of portable boilers, dehumidifiers, chillers, ventilators and extractor fans.
Its UK structure enables it to reach any UK destination within four hours.
Andrews Sykes' portable electric, gas and oil-fired heaters are used across a wide range of industries and provide safe, efficient and flexible heating. They are also in strong demand for festivals, fairs and exhibitions.
The company is looking to maintain a steady level of growth which will allow it to continue opening new depots and bring new products to market.
In the last couple of years it has, designed and manufactured several modern products across all divisions of the company including two portable air conditioning units – the Polar Wind Plus and the PAC60 – and the new FD40 dehumidifier unit and the ID65, an indirect fired model intended for areas with little or no ventilation.
It also expects to announce further growth and new branches across the continent during the next two years.
