24 | Aycliffe Today Business
AYCLIFFE
ENGINEERS
CELEBRATE
20-YEAR
MILESTONE
By Martin Walker
A Newton Aycliffe
engineering company that
survived a “withering”
recession is celebrating
its 20th anniversary as
company bosses breathe a
sigh of relief.
ALM Solutions boss Tony Thompson
started the company on 6th June
1994, based at a small unit in South
Church, near Bishop Auckland.
a difficult period in terms of growth,
when we had to employ more people
and you go from a small family firm to
bringing managers into the business.
A few years later he doubled the
size of his premises when he moved
to a 5,000 sq ft unit in Spennymoor
before moving into his current 11,000
sq ft factory on Grindon Way, Aycliffe
Business Park, in November 1999.
“But then the withering recession hit
and it wiped out about 40% of the
business overnight.
At its peak, ALM was employing 48
people as business boomed before the
recession hit in 2008 and the company
lost a “ridiculous amount of cash”
.
“So we’ve seen all sides of it.
Hopefully now we’re starting to come
out of the back end of the recession.
We’ve got good growth and a good
order book now, and we’re back in
recruitment mode.
”
Staff numbers tumbled to 26 at its
lowest ebb, but after diversifying
into oil and gas sectors, ALM has
gradually recovered. Work has picked
up, investments have been made and
the number of employees are back up
to 34.
Tony admits he wasn’t sure if the firm
would see its 20th birthday.
“It was a pretty bleak time, he said.
”
“But now we’re coming up 20 and,
when you look back over the last few
years, it’s an achievement we’re very
proud of.
“The first five years was easy. We
were in a bit of a niche market and
grew quite rapidly. Years five to 10 was
“We diversified into the precision
engineering market and that brought
with it its own skill demands.
Many employees have stuck with ALM
through thick-and-thin. Machinist John
Lyons has been with the company
since it started 20 years ago.
Other longstanding members of staff
include David Steele and Alan Lamb
(17 years), Paul Fowler (16 years), Alan
Smith (15 years), Barbara Lamb (12
years) and Chris Pollitt (10 years), while
four other employees have been with
them for nine years.
“You forget how much you grow as
a business and the people grow with
you, says Tony.
”