Repair specialist lands £1m deal
A Black Country property re-instatement specialist is celebrating its third anniversary under new management in style – after securing one of the biggest orders in its history.
Marlowe Industries, which employs 30 people at its Stourbridge-based offices, has landed a £1 million contract with a leading national insurer to look after its work in the Midlands and the North.
Marlowe is called in to repair properties which have been damaged through flood or fire.
The news comes at a time when Marlowe is looking to double the size of its business by creating new jobs and investing in a fleet of new vans.
Stuart Haynes, managing director, said: "This is a real milestone in our expansion and marks what has been a sustained period of growth over the last three years.
"Since 2004 we have taken on twelve craftsmen, taken turnover past the £1.2 million mark and built on our diverse client base which features loss adjusters, structural engineers, property managers and housing associations. The latest deal will see us provide re-instatement services for over 50 different jobs per month and this could entail anything from properties damaged by floods or fire to deliberate vandalism and unforeseen accidents.
"This is a very demanding sector and one that requires professionalism, speed and accuracy – something all of our craftsmen have in abundance. What you have to consider is that you are working in people's homes, often after a traumatic experience, and how you handle this is just as important as fixing and repairing the physical problems."
Boosted by the growth in turnover, Marlowe has already ploughed a significant amount of the money back into ongoing training and in the purchase of five new vans from Arnold Clark to help cope with the new work.
This £50,000 investment, which includes two Fiat Scudos and three Vauxhall Corsas for its surveying division, takes the company's fleet to more than 22 vehicles, all regularly maintained and carrying the firm's distinctive livery.
"I think this signals our intentions going forward," said Stuart, who is a keen ambassador for the enterprise culture in the Black Country.
"In our line of work we need to make sure we exude the right appearance from the outset and, with such a demanding contract to fulfil, we can't afford to have any downtime with our vehicles being repaired or out of action."
Reliability and quality has been instrumental in Marlowe's growing reputation and has been directly responsible for a growing portfolio of expertise, including property re-instatement, refurbishment, maintenance and mechanical engineering.
Going forward, the business is looking to build on its client base in the industrial and commercial sector and through the formation of stronger relationships with some of the UK's biggest loss adjustors which can result in contracts of up to £100,000.
"If everything goes to plan we should break the £2 million barrier for the first time in our history and there is no reason why we can't aim for £2.5 million in 2008."
