ASHWOOD Scotland is celebrating 15 years in business this year, shortly after the completion of its 313th project. It takes the total contracts value of completed projects past the £70m mark.
The Bathgate-based firm was founded in 1999 and has since grown to a staff 24-strong, with a turnover for the year to 2014 of £4.5m.
Managing Director, Archie Meikle, says the company had to “change tack” following the recession to emerge out the other end in a stronger position.
“We managed to retain all the staff we had pre-credit crunch and didn’t have to make any redundancies, which we’re quite proud of,” he said. “When we saw there was going to be a downturn we went through an intense period of re-marketing in terms of identifying where our workload came from. We targeted the local authorities and public sector.”
To mark Ashwood’s 15th year in business it is fitting that the company is involved in one of its most challenging jobs to date – the £2.4m restoration of Edinburgh’s Panmure House (pictured).
The grade-A listed building in the city’s Canongate area is the former home of Adam Smith and dates back to 1691.
The current phase of the works involves the repairing and re-slating of the roof, conservation of the exterior stonework and replacement of the timber sash and casement windows. “We are delighted to be able to bring our wealth of experience to such a fantastic project,” Mr Meikle added. “We are very proud to be given the opportunity to rejuvenate such a prestigious, historical building for its unique 21st century purpose.”
This is the first in a pipeline of work the company expects to be starting as it enters the final quarter of the year.
A recent survey of SMEs by Bibby Financial services indicated that two-thirds of those surveyed said they expected to invest in growing their business in the current quarter.
This is a trend Mr Meikle has spotted.
He added, “We are now at a stage as we pick up this new volume of work we’re hoping to increase our compliment of staff.”
