A South Bank engineering firm is laying down major expansion plans for the new year after a successful rescue operation by its founder. Three years on from heavy industry specialist Grayton being taken out of administration by former owner Peter O’Sullivan, it is mounting a major recruitment drive.
Founded in Scunthorpe in 1992, principally to support the steelworks, it was bought out by Leicestershire-based PDG Group in 2010, but the business – which had reached a £50 million turnover – failed in 2016, and was liquidated, with the rotating plant specialist also facing ruin.
Mr O’Sullivan bought back in having been approached by the administrators. Supported by a fund set up to mitigate the impact of cuts being made at then key client Tata by North Lincolnshire Council, Grayton was restructured, with 50 jobs saved.
Now the company,with expertise in kilns, dryers and blast furnaces, is pushing on. It has already more than doubled the workforce, with sights now on at least trebling that initial number as it builds again in structural and mechanical engineering specialisms.
Richard Marshall, the former finance director, is back as managing director, having been approached by Mr O’Sullivan last year. They are now 50/50 shareholders. Reflecting on the major turnaround, Mr Marshall said: “Everyone was told jobs were finished, but the approach by the administrators was made and Peter was asked if he would take it back.
“The suppliers hadn’t been paid, they were told they would be paid, but didn’t know when. The name was down the toilet. He spent the next six months dragging the reputation back and by 2017 it was back on its feet, but rocking with every punch.”
He joined, and together they have invested further.
“The philosophy of the business is that we are here to support the businesses that build Britain – cement, steel, oil and gas, chemicals and metallurgy,” Mr Marshall said. “Without cement, without steel and without oil there is nothing. Demand is now ever-growing, and I feel we have our fantastic reputation back.
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“We’ve now got 115 staff, we’re locally-owned and growing more. We have diversified. British Steel is now 20 per cent of the business, we are into a lot of different things now.”
Having moved to huge premises at Immingham, it retracted slightly to Barton while still under PDG. That base on Falkland Way is now thriving, with turnover back up to £8 million. A 30-strong office team supports work in the workshop and site teams that install, maintain, refurbish and replace niche kit the country over.
“I’m really proud of what we are doing,” Mr Marshall said. “We are now investing in 2025, in 2030, and if we want to be stronger, we need to. We are taking apprentices on, not a single one was taken on under PJD, now we have four in the first year.
“We can see a need to go from 115 to 160 staff. We have four teams, we want six, so it is not just a couple of foremen.”
Grayton has also acquired Richard James Engineering, a deal completed earlier this year. It brings efficient, cost-saving 3D laser scanning capability in-house, and saw a team of three join, with owner Richard Southee joining Grayton’s board.
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