G
roup Industrial
UK may not
be one of
Teesside’s
bigger names
in the industrial
services sector,
but the fledgling firm is growing fast and
gaining ground.
Established by managing director Mike
Marsh in 2017 after he had started it as a
home-based recruitment firm three years
earlier, Group Industrial UK restructured
and expanded to become an industrial
project-based company, specialising in
the major areas of the industry.
The firm provides manpower and
expertise in scaffolding and rope access,
mechanical services, industrial coatings,
industrial pipework and industrial
insulation.
And Group Industrial is growing at such
a rapid rate that it has started to see its
turnover reflect its ongoing success in the
last 12 months.
Middlesbrough-born MD Mike says
none of it would have been possible
without an intimate knowledge of the
industry and the deep skillset of his
workforce.
Mike, 39, joined British Steel at
Lackenby as a 17-year-old and worked on
the scaffolding and access sectors for a
decade.
He worked his way up from the shop
floor to management level and set up
his own industrial recruitment company
shortly before the threat of site closure,
as a way of finding employment for many
of the unfortunate men who were made
redundant.
Little did he know at the time, but he
was sowing the seeds for what would
quickly evolve into a multi-million pound
operation with a burgeoning reputation.
“I’ve got a lot to thank the workers
from the steelworks for,” says Mike, on
reflection. “When the people in the steel
industry were made redundant, they
shared and supported my vision and
joined forces with me in the challenging
foundation stages of the company, which
was then known as Industrial Recruitment
UK, based at the Innovation Centre in
Redcar.
“We grew the company to the point
where we were supplying industrial
services across the UK in different sectors
to well established blue chip companies.
“Down to the positive support and
effective skillset of the local workforce,
it was evident that we had an underlying
capability to deliver an overall industrial
service, in addition to a labour supply.
“We quickly decided to change the
structure and change the long term
view – so I created Group Industrial UK,
which was always going to be a long term
goal and would have different specialist
divisions.
“Initially, we were never going to be
in the spotlight up against the major
industrial companies. We had to build
a reputation, popularity and credibility
to be able to compete and succeed
alongside them.
“But I knew it would work – and it is
working. We are working as one of the
main contractors for MGT Teesside on
the Tees REP biomass power station at
Teesport, for example.
“We’ve gone from being basically a
recruitment company to a service-supply
group, and it has all been built from us
realising we were capable of doing it.
“We might not have thought it
originally, but it has all been possible
because we could provide a bit more than
simply the right man for the job.
“The industries I was involved in
provided a good grounding and level of
experience to take into this company,
and the current team offer the necessary
skillset and experience from the same
background and sectors.
“We are gradually getting recognised,
and we were always going to be a
company with big potential. We continue
to obtain respective accreditations
and awards and we’re growing our
involvement in the biomass sector, in
addition to working in alternative sectors
such as shipping, chemicals and local
authority projects.
“We are learning all the time and have
got to a point where we can say, ‘This is
what we do and who we are’ because we
have been doing – and we are doing –
some great stuff. The recognition is there
now and a lot of bigger companies are
coming to us.”
Group Industrial has offices in Dinsdale
House on AV Dawson’s site at Dawson’s
Wharf on the Riverside Industrial Estate
in Middlesbrough, next to the River Tees,
and occupies half of the fabrication
building opposite.
The firm has an overall workforce of
around 100, currently out on various sites
around the UK as well as on Teesside,
including an office-based team of eight –
among them Mike's wife and co-director,
Louise, contract manager Daniel Hughes,
sales manager Sean Falconbridge and
Duo - MD Mike Marsh with his wife
and fellow director Louise.
business administrator Emma Jennings.
“All of our team come from respective
working backgrounds and have
something different to offer,” explains
Mike. “And Louise has been instrumental
in the company's success. She is highly
respected by our workforce and is
an influential figure in maintaining a
grounded approach.
“We don't pretend to be anything we're
not – we're a growing, small company –
but we're proud of the progress we're
making.
“I'm very driven to eventually be
alongside and compete with the major
industry players and be recognised
nationally as a major industrial supplier.
“And to me, the real value of the
company is where it has come from and
its core values of what it delivers.
“It's not about making a quick profit. It's
about having strong systems in place, a
good track record and a fantastic client
base.
“That's the bigger picture. We are
six years in now – three years into the
services side – and if you look how far we
have come over the past year, it's pretty
incredible really.
“We've gone from having myself, Dan
and Louise part-time to having a team of
staff in the office and around 100 people
out on site. And we are constantly fielding
enquiries from bigger companies.”
Mike refuses to get carried away with
Group Industrial's meteoric rise, even
though he has firm plans to turn it into a
major UK industrial services player. For
him, it's about getting the balance right.
“We are working alongside and
compete with major industrial companies,
so we remain understanding of the
impact of success and failure and ensure
a balanced approach is our priority at all
times.
“We are progressing nicely and
we monitor what we commit to in
consideration of our vision and business
model.
“It's quite a brave thing we've done.
To sit at the level we are now with the
big projects we're involved in is a real
milestone. Watch this space."
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