24 | Aycliffe Today Business
Scott Ellwood – who formed SE Landscaping more than a decade ago .
Landscaping firm flourishes into blooming business
By Martin Walker
Scott Ellwood sowed the seeds for his new landscaping venture more than a decade ago .
Now he ’ s reaping the rewards after seeing his fledgling firm flourish into a blossoming business .
After starting out as a sole trader in 2006 , Shildon-based Ellwood created his limited company , SE Landscaping , in 2014 .
He now heads up a team of seven – one of which services more than 20 clients on Aycliffe Business Park full-time from the company ’ s Whinbank Park site – and Ellwood expects turnover this year to exceed £ 200,000 .
“ It ’ s very much been a gradual process of building the business over the years ,” says the 38-year-old .
“ I started out as a sole trader when the company I was working for went out of business . I ’ d been with them for 11 years – from an apprentice up to contract supervisor in the end – and so I ’ d built up a lot of my own contacts in the business .
“ Some of them gave me contracts which got me up and running , including one with
Balfour Beatty , which we still work for to this day .”
After winning more work – SE Landscaping currently has more than 70 active clients on its books – the firm now employs three fulltime site staff as well as Jamie Fish , who ’ s in the first year of his apprenticeship , while his dad and wife have recently been taken on to help out .
“ My dad was a health and safety officer and now works for me part-time now he ’ s retired , looking after our health and safety three days a week ,” added Ellwood .
“ I ’ ve also just taken on my wife , Lyndsey , as secretary so I can concentrate on running the business , seeing clients and trying to win new work .”
Of its recent contract wins , SE Landscaping has been working for Crafter ’ s Companion , at its new store and HQ along Horndale Avenue .
Andrew McDonald , finance and operations manager for Crafter ’ s Companion UK , said : “ SE Landscaping have been carrying out grass cutting , verge maintenance and winter maintenance for us since May 2016 , as well as a series of small landscaping projects to improve the site .
“ In the coming months they will be planting some bedding plants in the corporate colours to improve the frontage of our head office , which we ’ re looking forward to seeing , as their work is always of a high standard .”
Crafter ’ s Companion isn ’ t the only wellknown Aycliffe firms SE Landscaping look after , having worked for a number of years already for the likes of PWS , Wartsila on Northfield Way , Premo Fabrications on Durham Way South and both Sensotronics and Advance Automated Systems off Welbury Way .
And SE Landscaping ’ s links with Aycliffe don ’ t end there .
The firm sponsored Newton Aycliffe FC ’ s away strips for the 2016-17 Northern League season and has also sponsored Aycliffe Juniors Under-10s for the last four years .
“ I ’ ve had a close association with the junior teams over recent years and so we ’ ve naturally started to follow the senior team in the Northern League ,” says Ellwood .