UPLIFTING
24 | Tees Business
Husband-and-wife
team Amanda and Paul
Gardiner have helped
to steer family-run firm
Durham Lifting to a
record turnover.
Engineering specialists set for record turnover after £1.5m investment...
By Martin Walker
A
n engineering firm which has had to
weather stormy waters is set for a
record turnover this year.
Middlesbrough based Durham
Lifting suffered from the downturn in the oil
and gas sector – but says it has benefited
from refocusing on its core business.
Now annual sales, which had dipped last
year, are expected to hit £4m later this year
– and the firm has invested more than £1.5m
in new equipment to further expand its lifting
capabilities on and offshore.
Durham Lifting now has lofty ambitions
to grow the business by opening up a third
branch of the company, with more to follow,
as well as adding more employees to its
growing workforce.
“Under the new development plan, the
initial aim is to open a further three branches
over the coming years,” says managing
director Amanda Gardiner, who is aided at
the Durham Lifting helm by her husband and
technical director Paul.
“The business has changed significantly
over the last two years. There have been
some difficult times and it has brought on a
culture change. We’ve had to change the way
we do things.
“We’ve had to become experts in so many
different fields, adopt new working practises
and further develop knowledge of British
Standards and Quality procedures.
“The business was undergoing a
significant surge in growth and was
expanding at a rapid 50% level per year. And
then we suffered a big drop when the oil and
gas sector slumped.”
With a team of 28, Durham Lifting is
looking to take on four new staff in the
short term including a branch manager,
administrator and test/service engineers.
Additional planned investment includes
new premises, cranes, storage and loading
facilities to house the new equipment.
Amanda said: “By concentrating on our
core business, we’ve been able to sustain
our growth while developing the people
within the organisation.
“Our team have been exceptional and
we’re very proud of them. They’ve come
along the journey with us and they’re
fantastic to work with. It’s a real pleasure to
be involved in their development.
“We invest in training all of the time – in
safety, admin, IT and sales leadership. I’m
a big believer in investing in people and
we’re always looking for ways to improve
ourselves.”
Safety training, in particular, has played a
key role in Durham Lifting’s development.
“Testing is very much the core of our
business,” adds Amanda.
Durham Lifting has established itself as
the leading independent testing and lifting
expert within its field, working for the likes
of EON, Gestamp, Bridon UK and Subsea 7
along with a wide range of engineering firms
across the UK.
The firm’s impressive test bed in
Middlesbrough is the largest of its kind in
the UK and holds third party approval to
undertake tensile and compressive testing
up to the capacity of 2,000 tonnes. Durham
Lifting is able to design equipment in
house and manufacture to order. The firm
specialises in the manufacture of offshore
handling equipment, lifting and modular
spreader beams up to 1,000 tonnes,