An electrical installations contractor is bucking the trend and taking on more staff after the coronavirus led to a pent-up demand for its services.
Smart Electrical Installations Ltd was started in January 2019 when two former sub-contractors – who used to compete against each other for work – joined forces to launch their own business after reaching a lull in their respective careers.
Since then Steve Gibbons and Tim Higgins have grown the company from two men and a van to a seven-strong business which works from offices on Norton Industrial Estate, in Stoke-on-Trent.
Tim, who lives in Alsager, said: “I’ve known Steve for a long time, we both used to work as sub-contractors and used to price up jobs against each other. We have both worked in various different jobs over the years and we have got different strengths and weaknesses which compliment each other.
“I have always had the desire to work for myself so when the time came, I approached Steve and Smart Electrical was born.”
Smart Electrical offers design, installation and maintenance services for companies across a range of sectors, including food manufacturing and care.
It also works in the domestic market in areas such as CCTV and security as well as more specialised services such as home automation.
Tim said: “Things were going really well for us, we’d doubled our turnover from last year in just nine months, but then the coronavirus hit and we basically lost four months of the year.
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“We were worried initially because there were contracts that we’d signed before the pandemic that we couldn’t do the work on, everything just stopped.
“But luckily new orders landed during lockdown so when we were able to start back again we had more work than we had before, which meant we needed to take on two more employees.
“So at the beginning of this month, when we fully reopened, we employed another electrician and an electrical improver.”
Over the next 12 months Smart Electrical wants to double its turnover and increase its workforce in line with demand as well enhancing its accreditations.
Steve, of Eaton Park, said: “We have invested a lot of money in equipment and our offices and now we want to continue to invest so we are able to adapt to the needs of our customers.”
He added: “Home automation is a very specialised market and we see that as an area of growth for us. We have plans to invest in training, to gain ISO accreditations and become CEDIA members so people know we are meeting the industry standards, but also to give our people the foundations to grow and develop in their own careers.
“We are also looking at undertaking networking courses which will be another area of growth for us, especially since more people are working from home now.
“So we have lots of plans in place for growth which will hopefully mean we can create new jobs.”