New jobs as firm builds a bright future

It comes after AM Griffiths (AMG) was named as the fastest growing construction industry company in the Black Country in the recent BDO Growth list.

AMG was also the seventh best performing business overall in BDO's recent top 50 of high growth Black Country companies after seeing turnover increase by an average of 51 per cent over the last three years to hit £21.6 million.

Director Simon Dix said AMG was now on track for turnover of about £30m in its current financial year, to the end of next March, with about £12m of orders already in place for the following year.

At the same time the company's success winning new work has seen the creation of 29 new jobs and a further five positions for apprentices and trainees. The company now has 56 directly-employed staff.

Established in 1899 by Arthur Griffiths, a tradesman builder based in a small workshop in Church Lane, Wolverhampton, the firm moved to Thomas Street in 1904, where its head office remains to this day.

The company remained under family control until a decision to appoint directors from outside the family, in 1997, which eventually led to a management buyout in April last year. The management team, headed by new chairman Maurice Walsh and managing director Richard Green, had already started on a five-year growth plan in 2013 when AMG was turning over about £9m.

Mr Green said: "The delivery of this five-year plan has resulted in our turnover reaching £30 million in the last three years. Profits have also increased five times over in that period demonstrating the profitable growth strategy."

The firm has a broad spread of clients, with no sector accounting for more than 20 per cent of turnover, enabling AMG to spread risk evenly. Its core areas are industrial, commercial, healthcare, residential and education in both the public and the private sectors.

"This increased profitability includes the investment in the business required to cater for our expansion plans and also includes the management buyout costs. If these were stripped out our profitability looks even better. We are progressing ahead of plan and have a forward order book that has increased by around £10 million on this time last year."

The company has a broad spread of clients, with no sector accounting for more than 20 per cent of turnover, enabling AMG to spread risk evenly. Its core areas are industrial, commercial, healthcare, residential and education in both the public and private sectors.

Mr Green also credits AMG's concentration on the quality of its work for its success in winning repeat work for existing clients, which accounts for around 80 per cent of its work in any year.

AMG's core operating area is within a 50 mile radius of its Wolverhampton head office, with around three-quarters of its annual turnover coming from the Black Country and surrounding areas.

Alongside its 120-year heritage of construction experience, AMG has embraced new technology,working with its IT partner to launch its own smart phone app to deal with on-site quality assurance and health & safety issues in real time. It enbles site managers to go around sites and take photos and give information on issues that are then transmitted via email and text to the supply chain.

All the notifications are also sent to the MD so he has a comprehensive understanding of what is going on at each AMG site every day.

Mr Green added: "Since the management buyout, the shareholders feel a moral obligation to invest in the future of this industry on a local basis; by taking on new trainees we are not only cementing the future of AMG and ensuring we continue to prosper, but we are also providing jobs to the local community."