Sponsored by FW Capital
TURNOVER
SME (£ 3M- £ 10M TURNOVER )
Jo Whitfield , fund director at category sponsor FW Capital , presented the Turnover – SME trophy to ArtAV director Nick Joyce .
WINNER
ARTAV
Middlesbrough The founder of an award-winning audio-visual firm has described its journey from a Middlesbrough house to a £ 3.7m turnover business .
And he revealed the firm , which has only nine employees , all Teessiders , is on the verge of confirming its involvement in a major new stage production in London ’ s West End . Nick Joyce started ArtAV back in 1997 , working out of a house in Acklam . Twenty-eight years on , the firm has built a worldwide reputation for providing eye-catching audio-visuals for major art galleries and museums , as well as events such as Eurovision 2023 and last year ’ s Commonwealth Games opening and closing ceremonies .
And now it ’ s the proud holder of two VelociTees awards for Turnover in both the SME and Overall categories . To clinch its category , sponsored by FW Capital , ArtAV ’ s turnover leapt from £ 1,380,000 to £ 3,370,000 – a 144 % growth – compared to fellow finalists ITS ( 75 %) and INDUSTRO ( 53 %).
Called ArtAV since 2012 , it is now based in a 27,000-sq ft unit on Riverside Park in Middlesbrough , having moved from a 4,000-sq ft unit on Thornaby ’ s Teesside Industrial Estate last year to fit in all its hi-tech gear . But , says director Nick , the staff are the key to his firm ’ s success . He told Tees Business : “ I ’ ve got the most incredible team . They ’ re the best in the industry and I think that ’ s why we ’ ve achieved the growth we have .
“ But we ’ ve also seen a growth in the arts industry with their budgets . Although the art industry is really strapped for money all the time , we ’ re seeing more ambition with AV shows , which obviously benefits us .
“ We saw the art world was going to move away from slide projectors and the like . Now we focus on the very latest technologies and we work hand in hand with artists to help them develop new works .”
FINALIST
INDUSTRO
Middlesbrough
With small beginnings in Redcar , where group CEO John Betts set up INDUSTRO after redundancy from a project manager position , the firm has grown from a single company , INDUSTRO Engineering , to become , in just eight years , a £ 10m-turnover group of five individual subsidiaries – Middlesbrough-based INDUSTRO Engineering Group .
Having a range of key different business disciplines in-house enables the group to provide complete , single-source turnkey engineering solutions on major projects , from concept and design through to manufacture , installation , commissioning and handover , with clients including HS2 , the Woodsmith polyhalite mine and Teesworks .
FINALIST
ITS ( INDUSTRIAL TECHNOLOGY SYSTEMS )
Middlesbrough
Since its inception in 1991 , ITS has been a leader in automation , robotics , digital and innovative technologies for clean energy , life sciences and chemical manufacturing . Specialising in vertical markets , including pharmaceutical , biotech , chemicals , energy , nuclear , manufacturing and other industries , it is now fully owned by MD Andrew Mills , but with founder Malcolm Knott remaining as consultant to the board .
Based on Middlesbrough ’ s Riverside Park , it enters its new phase with a clear vision and a bold business plan outlining how it can continue to excel in providing its existing services while embracing key growth areas such as automation / robotics and digitalisation .
SPONSOR MESSAGE
Jo Whitfield of category sponsor FW Capital said : “ There is so much going on in Teesside and It was fantastic to see such a diverse array of companies highlighted at the VelociTees Awards . The innovation and entrepreneurial spirit on display were truly impressive , showcasing the incredible talent in our region . Congratulations to all the winners !”
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