Member Article

CommsProvider celebrates unprecedented performance with charity golf day

Expanding West Yorkshire telecoms company CommsProvider is teeing up for its inaugural charity golf event on the back of unprecedented performance and expansion over the last year, achieved through organic business growth, acquisitions and investment in technology and people.

It will take place at Bingley St Ives Golf Club, on Wednesday, September 4, with proceeds in aid of the Yorkshire Air Ambulance.

Established in 2010, CommsProvider operates from purpose-built 10,000sq ft premises near Halifax, West Yorkshire, offering a dedicated account management, support, repair and fault resolution portfolio on behalf of an expanding nationwide customer base.

The corporate communications specialist has seen turnover grow from £0.5m to £3m in the latest financial year and says its role has evolved from providing specific maintenance services to Samsung telephone systems clients to becoming a full service telecoms company, offering dedicated account management, support, repair and fault resolution on both fixed line and mobile services.

Chairman Mike Bower said: “The vast majority of our growth is in managed services, an area frequently overlooked by businesses, as boundaries between telecoms and IT can often be blurred.

“Our progress has been achieved without debt and without any support funding whatsoever. Our own private investment to date is over £1m. We now have a nationwide client base and have sought to develop the strongest supply chain relationships delivering customer-focused solutions and managed packages that actually save our clients money, typically 25% of actual spend.”

Last year, CommsProvider acquired Yorkshire’s leading mobile phone recycling company MPRO (Mobile Phone Recycling Organisation), established in Keighley in 2007. It acts an approved repair centre for all makes of mobile phones and smart phones, and a recycling service offering to purchase redundant handsets from businesses, organisations and consumers, so preventing old mobile phones going into landfill.

MPRO founder and managing director Johann Shepherd remains at the helm of the business. He said: “As a group, we can now offer a full end-to-end service. We maintain and repair everything - from the office system to the mobile fleet.”

The £1m head office in Myltholmroyd is also home to The Continuum, which falls under the CommsProvider remit and provides a 130-seat disaster recovery and business continuity centre. Firms and organisations from the major conurbations of Manchester, Leeds, Bradford and York are clients of the disaster recovery arm, which is also growing rapidly.

CommsProvider’s workforce has grown too. The business now employs over 30 people and, on the back of recent progress, is actively seeking to recruit additional sales, marketing and technical staff.

Co-founder, Luke Hayes, added: “We employ local people aged 16 to 60 and many of those we have taken on of late have come straight from school as apprentices, or have not been in employment. We are particularly keen to bring on young people and equip them with new skills. We like to start with a blank piece of paper and train individuals to our own standards.

“This is unusual for a technology business and is working extremely well.”

The community-based focus is the inspiration for the charity golf tournament, according to Mike Bower. “We are increasingly ‘putting something back’ and have chosen the Yorkshire Air Ambulance because of the wonderful life-saving service it continues to provide.

“It promises to be a great day in support of a fantastic cause and the opportunity to meet other like-minded Yorkshire businesses.”

CommsProvider is main sponsor of the event, which will have a four-ball format involving 18 teams and a shotgun start from 12 noon.

Prizes already pledged include a £15k contribution towards the cost of a new car, golfing breaks in Portugal and the UK, golf club sets and clothing, and some of the latest telecoms equipment.

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