Tees Business Issue 34 | Page 73

ENGINEERING
Teamwork – Adam Potter ( left ) launched Axiom in 2003 and was quickly joined by his now fellow director Rob Johnson .
“ It is great we have a team like we do , time and time again they go above and beyond for our clients .”
months later when he felt he had greater experience to strengthen the company ’ s approach .
He had worked at a few different places after graduating as a mechanical design engineer before teaming up with Adam and René .
Rob said : “ I remember working in the first building we rented . The machines and computers were all in one room . If the telephone rang , we had to turn the machines off ! So , we decided to move into a bigger unit of our own .
“ That was our first major investment , but it was just an empty shell . So , it was a case of doing the fit-out ourselves .
“ My dad was a joiner and I ’ d picked a few skills up from him . Adam is also practical and René was good on electrics . It just worked .
“ We were engineers during the week , then on evenings and weekends we were putting up plasterboards and putting down carpets .”
Since then , Axiom ’ s rise has been hugely impressive . Not only is it positioned as a leading provider in the markets it services , it has also won numerous awards .
It was named the Supplier to the
Chemical Industry in 2022 at the Chemicals North-West Annual Awards for its outstanding customer service and effective supply partnerships .
That was repeated at the Chemical Industries Association Awards later that year for its innovative technologies .
Axiom was also highly commended at the IChemE Global Awards last November in recognition of its digital asset management database tool , AMD and this formal acknowledgement of its highly-acclaimed engineering services has again continued .
Expansion of their offerings to include process safety engineering and process safety consultancy services saw Axiom scoop Engineering Firm of the Year 2023 at this year ’ s Chemicals North- West ceremony in addition to Young Achiever of the Year 2023 by Axiom Employee , Matt Black , at a recent NEPIC annual awards event .
An ambitious business strategy for sustainable growth has led to continued year-on-year expansion despite the global pandemic , with an increase in turnover for the 2021-22 financial year in excess of 40 per cent and further strong growth forecast for 2022-23 .
Such figures have led to strategic decisions to improve Axiom ’ s own environmental outlook .
Adam , who started out as an engineer at ICI after graduating before travelling the world and creating Axiom , said : “ We know we have to do our bit for net zero . We have put 142 solar panels on the roof , we are now looking at installing heat pumps .
“ We have an electric pool car , we ’ ve put LED lighting throughout the offices , improved insulation and reduced our carbon footprint year on year .
“ As a nation we have to re-tool our entire country to go net zero , so we are working towards reducing our own carbon footprint .”
That journey is important to Axiom . It has introduced an electric car scheme for its workforce too , and there are four EV chargers at the Stockton site for staff who want to take up that incentive .
Keeping staff happy is another huge aspect to the business . Axiom ’ s first employee , inspector Dave Burns , is still with the company and due to retire this year after 20 years ’ service .
Rob said : “ We wouldn ’ t be successful if we didn ’ t have the team we have .
“ It is great we have a team like we do , time and time again they go above and beyond for our clients .
“ When customers buy into Axiom , they are effectively buying our people ’ s time . We couldn ’ t have done it without the dedication of the staff here .”
What next for Axiom ? The sky ’ s the limit .
For further information on Axiom ’ s services , check out www . axiomengineeringassociates . com
The voice of business in the Tees region | 73