FEATURE
Investment – MD Lee Cranston has welcomed the £ 1.4m roof and car park refurbishment .
Ultimately , we are looking to grow the business into other markets so we want to give a good impression to people arriving here .”
Work on the roof and wall cladding began in January 2023 , finishing in March this year .
To give an idea of the scale of the project , the roof area is a vast 5,929sq m , including 10 per cent roof lights , with a wall area of 3,691sq m .
But with the roof now secure and watertight , thoughts are turning to the possible installation of ‘ green ’ solar panels . Lee said : “ It has been a huge project , with the roof , exterior wall and car park all completed . Another reason for doing the roof was that potentially at some point , we are looking at investing in solar panels . We couldn ’ t put solar panels on the roof as it was , so it ’ s a step in that direction .
“ It ’ s also much lighter in the building now because the new roof and walls include some clear panelling .”
The 65-space car park is now all retarmacked and lined too , with electric charging points due to go in soon . Lee explained : “ Previously it was all loose chippings and potholes , with the retaining wall starting to fall – not good for our staff or people coming to visit the business .
“ We completed this in conjunction with the roof work and , ultimately , it ’ s been all about getting us to the point where the infrastructure is there for the future . Now we can start looking at the investment inside the building , with things like new machinery , because we have a watertight structure to house it in .”
Currently , 95 people work at Katmex ’ s Stockton site , plus 25 at Seaham .
But what type of machinery is Katmex considering replacing ? Lee explained : “ We ’ re looking at a capital expenditure programme , starting with profile cutting beds and exploring the option of a laser cutting machine . “ Technology has moved on significantly so , from an operator perspective , newer machines with more capabilities mean we can expand the customer base and the quality of product is guaranteed because there ’ s less process involved . We ’ re researching lead times at the moment , but we could have them within the next six to nine months .
“ We also have two brand-new Hurco CNC machines coming in June or July . They cost around £ 200,000 each but they ’ ve proved their worth at Seaham , so we ’ re taking them forward into Stockton .
“ Previously we ’ ve maybe used secondhand machines but brand new ones will mean extra reliability and performance .”
Lee admits that as the main industry Katmex supplies is construction machinery , there ’ s been uncertainty caused by national issues and international conflicts .
He said : “ The likes of interest rates have affected the end user buying new machines , which means a kickback on us . The Ukraine and Israel conflicts impact on what businesses are spending too . But while , to a certain extent , we ‘ adjust to suit ’ at the moment , that ’ s something we can hopefully move away from – we want to diversify into different industries so that if one industry decreases , we have others that hopefully are on different cycles .”
And Lee , who ’ s been at Katmex for seven years and became MD in September 2022 , says production engineer Nathan Wall ’ s recent triumph at the Tees Business Awards , where he clinched the Future Leader crown , was a big morale boost for the company .
He said : “ As a business , things like Nathan ’ s win , and the investment that ’ s going into the company , will communicate to others that we are investing in our people and helping to develop them .
“ Going forward , we ’ re confident we have the necessary knowledge , skills and capabilities to continue being successful .”
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