Member Article

Bus refurbishment specialist wins multi-million pound contract

A bus refurbishment specialist has secured a £5 million contract to supply new seats for 600 London double-decker buses, thanks to support from Yorkshire Bank.

It is the largest contract Rowan Telmac Ltd has landed in its 30-year history. The company employs 60 people and is based on the Hortonwood Industrial Estate in Telford and in Coventry.

Rowan Telmac will manufacture the seats for 600 hybrid red buses over the next three years having been subcontracted to carry out the internal fitting work from Northern Ireland-based Wrightbus which won the overall contract from Transport for London.

Following a management buyout in 2006, managing director Richard Mallard runs Rowan Telmac with his wife, Helen.

Richard said the support of Yorkshire Bank’s Business and Private Banking Centre in Birmingham had been crucial to their success.

“We started work on this about 18 months ago with the designers Heatherwick Studio and Wrightbus and the buses look fantastic,” he said.

“We have manufactured the whole seating from start to finish including the metal work and upholstery – everything in the buses we have supplied as a complete kit.

“We financed around £250,000 ourselves for the seating tooling equipment and to purchase a new 3D tube bending machine from Langbow in Rugeley. We looked at companies all over the country but we chose Langbow because they are on our doorstep.”

Helen Mallard added: “We are fortunate we found a bank that supports and works with us. We are the only refurbishment company in the UK that has the capabilities to deal with the whole package and it is great to have the backing of Yorkshire Bank as we look to win more new business.”

Heather Griffin, business development manager at Yorkshire Bank’s Business and Private Banking centre in Temple Row, Birmingham, said Rowan Telmac was a perfect example of a forward-thinking company which continues to diversify and secure new contracts.

Heather said: “Rowan Telmac started life as a presswork and welding company around 30 years ago and it is now at the forefront of vehicle refurbishment work in the UK. The first of their London buses went to the capital in September and, quite rightly, the whole team is proud of their work.

“Yorkshire Bank remains committed to supporting strong, trading businesses and we are pleased to have played our part in the company winning such a prestigious contract.”

PICTURE CAPTION: From the left, Heather Griffin (Yorkshire Bank) with Richard and Helen Mallard at Rowan Telmac

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by KMandT .