ENGINEERING
XX FOR AXIOM
Leadership – Axiom managing director Adam Potter ( right ) and director of engineering services Rob Johnson at the firm ’ s Bowesfield Crescent premises in Stockton .
Stockton firm hits 20-year milestone in style
PICTURES : TOM BANKS WORDS : PAUL FRASER
72 | Tees Business
Axiom ’ s headquarters in Stockton is currently undergoing refurbishment . In many ways , given how the company started , this is an appropriate way to mark its 20th anniversary .
In the early days of Axiom ’ s existence , its founders used to spend much of their spare time , weekends mainly , literally building their new office .
Whether it be fitting stud walls , painting or installing electrics , it was all to create a better working environment for the fledgling company and staff .
Even now Adam Potter , Axiom ’ s managing director , must be reined in from doing more than he should on that front , given he has an awardwinning business to run that supports a diverse range of industry sectors including energy , pharmaceutical , oil and gas , food , chemical and bulk storage .
And as Adam and Rob Johnson , the director of engineering services , chat through the journey Axiom has been on since it was founded in January 2003 , from their Woodstock Court office in Bowesfield Crescent , both would be more than happy to get their hands dirty again .
Since Adam and Dr René Hoyle first came up with the idea two decades ago of providing engineering inspection services , Axiom has gone from two to over 70 permanent employees , providing high added value engineering solutions to a client base of over 100 companies .
Axiom now operates across five sites : Teesside , Grangemouth , Immingham , Runcorn and , most recently , Saltend Chemicals Park , Hull .
Adam said : “ I was a mechanical engineer - my job was to do the calculations and assessments , and René was materials engineer . His role was to try to find out why things had failed in the first place . It was a nice partnership to get things rolling .
“ I remember us one day travelling across the M62 from a site together and we discussed setting up our own business . A materials laboratory at Wilton was going to shut down so we approached the owner , made an offer and that was that .
“ Over a series of weeks , we moved everything to the old ICI Billingham Apprenticeship Centre , now the Grange Business Centre . It was single glazed , a concrete structure , freezing in the winter and a sauna in the summer .
“ We had a laboratory and an office under one roof . We were all stacked on top of each other , with nowhere to eat or store things . It was cramped and we didn ’ t have any money as we had spent it all setting up the business .”
Axiom quickly grew . Rob joined around 18