Teamwork – Phil and Marcia Atkinson ( centre ) with David Atkinson ( right ), Phil ’ s brother and BTS quality and engineering director , with Nigel Freeman ( left ), Marcia ’ s brother and newly appointed operations director .
“ You pull up here and get the wow factor . From the moment you arrive , you know you are dealing with a business that believes in precision , quality , and first-class service .”
That service is provided by several family members working alongside Phil and Marcia :
• David Atkinson now has the title of quality and engineering director .
• Phil ’ s older brother , Chris , is transport manager .
• Marcia ’ s brother , Nigel Freeman , is the newly appointed operations director , bringing a wealth of experience from a career that has included serving as a director at Thorn Lighting .
• Phil ’ s brother-in-law , Mike Morris , is a senior estimator .
• And Bryan , now 81 , retains a 20 per cent shareholding and still comes in for meetings .
It should , therefore , come as no surprise that the business recently won the Family Business of the Year title in the Federation of Small Business Awards for the North- East , with the national final taking place in Glasgow on May 19 .
BTS has also been shortlisted in three categories of the Aycliffe Business Park Make Your Mark Awards : Environment ; Engineering and Manufacturing ; and Company of the Year .
In addition , a major contract to install rainscreens on a building in Battersea , London , has been shortlisted for two categories in the Tall Buildings Awards – Best Tall Building Façade , and Fenestration Engineering Project . The building in question houses the British Academy of Dance on the ground floor , with the rest residential .
BTS had grown steadily up to the pandemic , reaching a healthy turnover of £ 8.3m , but Covid-19 inevitably posed its challenges , with eight redundancies being necessary , and most of the staff furloughed .
Despite that , production never stopped , and the company is now ready to grow again with plans to add to its workforce of nearly 50 employees .
“ The outgoings don ’ t stop when you ’ re in a pandemic , so there were some worrying times , but it was a massive learning curve and we weathered the storm ,” says Phil .
The turnover target for this year is £ 9m , and the aim is to hit £ 15m by 2025 . Contracts are ongoing nationwide , with 50 per cent of the work being carried out in and around London .
With the tragedy of the Grenfell Tower fire still fresh in the memory , the company is collaborating closely with EOS and Paroc on non-combustible panels .
Confidence in the future is running so high that the business has invested in a plot of adjacent land with a view to building a second factory – and it ’ s a safe bet that it will be wearing a stylish rainscreen to make it stand out .
But underpinning those growth ambitions is a passionate commitment to look after the workforce , and make every employee feel part of the company ’ s success .
‘ Engagement days ’ are held off site to discuss the priorities for the business , while a leadership team meets regularly to tackle any issues and come up with initiatives .
Serious consideration is also being given to introducing a four-day week to create a better work-life balance .
“ We ’ re very , very proud of what we ’ ve achieved from humble beginnings ,” says Marcia .
“ Sometimes , I have to pinch myself when I rock up every morning and reflect on what we ’ ve created .
“ But we know that it ’ s a team effort , with everyone bringing different skills , and we want to improve the quality of life for everyone who ’ s part of our extended family .”
Phil and Marcia Atkinson might only be a few miles down the road from where they met at primary school , but there ’ s no denying that they ’ ve gone a long way .
18 | Aycliffe Business