This Is Tees Valley This Is Tees Valley - Issue 1 2020 | 页面 59

Stunning – Teesside University’s
award-winning Curve building was
built with Finley steel.
In the bag –
Finley completed
the steel
structure for the
Victoria Gate
shopping centre
in Leeds.
Julie Raistrick –
managing director of
steel fabrication firm
Finley Structures.
and a 1,100-tonne job for Sir Robert
McAlpine at the much-celebrated Riverwalk
development in Durham City.
Formed by John Finley in 2000, Finley
Structures prides itself on safety, quality and
attention to detail.
As the firm approaches its 20th
anniversary, Finley Structures recorded a
record turnover of £17.6m in 2019.
Employing 65 people – although the
Finley group of companies employs
about 150 in total – it’s now run by John’s
daughter, Julie Raistrick.
“We’ve come a very long way over the
years,” says Julie.
“The company was formed nearly 20
years ago, and for a number of years we’ve
been competing nationally and working
with all major main contractors.
“Winning high-profile projects like
Hitachi and Nissan are great, but they’re
just a small part of what we do year in, year
out. So many of our projects don’t make the
headlines.”
It’s Finley’s education contracts, in
particular, that go largely under the radar.
But the firm has worked on 95 in the last
decade – ranging from Walker Technology
College back in 2009 to Bradford College,
to other schools and colleges in the Wear
region, Newcastle, Gateshead, London,
Lincoln, Hull, York, Scarborough, Cumbria,
Doncaster and Leeds, among others.
It recently finished its 95th education
project in ten years after completing
steelwork for the new Bishop Barrington
School in Bishop Auckland.
The firm’s success, says Julie, is down to
solid foundations and traditional family
values.
And they celebrate their anniversary
year with a healthy order book involving
more than 8,000 tonnes of steel for clients
BAM, Bowmer & Kirkland, Galliford Try,
Kier, Tolent Construction and Sir Robert
McAlpine.
“We know 2020 will be a very exciting
year for Finley Structures,” adds Julie.
“It’s also a special time for the company,
as we go into our 20th year. The business
was formed by my father in 2000. Perhaps
even he might not have envisaged at the
time – when he acquired our site from
British Steel – that we’d grow into the
company we’re so very proud of today.”
Julie has lived and worked in the North-
East throughout her life and remains
passionate about what the area
has to offer.
“It’s where I’m from and where I want to
be. It’s a beautiful part of the world and the
people are so friendly,” she says.
Her parents – John and Val – grew up in
Durham. After John was made redundant,
he took his future into his own hands by
buying a van and working as a steel erector.
His reputation and business interests
grew from those humble beginnings and led
to Finley Structures being launched with
20 staff on the former NCB site at Tursdale,
near Bowburn.
Two years later, John happened to be
driving along a road on Aycliffe Business
Park when he saw an 87,000-sq ft site – once
home to British Steel – being emptied by its
tenants.
With Finley outgrowing its original site at
Tursdale, John seized the opportunity.
Finley moved to Aycliffe in 2002 and has
grown ever since.
“The fact we’ve not only survived but
thrived in such a volatile industry is
testament to John, the family and our hard-
working, dedicated staff.
“Our 20th anniversary is a milestone we
can all be incredibly proud of and should be
celebrated," adds Julie.
Find out more about Finley Structures at finleystructures.co.uk
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