Member Article

Durham drug testers invest £1million to create 80 jobs

A County Durham-based firm that delivers drugs and alcohol testing has invested £1 million in its NETPark operations and now aims to create 80 jobs.

The firm which has six divisions and delivers a range of drugs and alcohol testing services for regional, national and global companies plans to increase its workforce from 18 to 80 over the next three years - and provide work for an additional 240 people nationally as part of its rapid growth and expansion.

Formerly a division of Corporate Solutions International (CSI), the firm which was set up in 2005, was the brainchild of executive chairman and managing director, Trevor Hall.

Mr Hall, who spent many years researching the needs of UK and International blue chip companies, decided to set up his own company to deliver a range of unique services not currently met by his competitors after spotting a gap in the market.

He said: “CSI provides a unique service in assisting a variety of businesses and agencies to identify and manage those who are involved in drug dealing, abuse and workplace criminality. Our role is to identify drugs, substances, and national hotspots of activity for specific substances, crimes and more.

Mr Hall added: “We are committed to the provision of effective D and A solutions for the benefit of the employer, the employee as well as the wider community.

“Our reputation for drugs and alcohol testing is growing rapidly both at home and abroad. CSI is winning contracts on a regular basis both nationally and globally which is testament to the skills and experience of all our staff and our passion for delivering a unique global service. We are confident of winning more contracts to accelerate further business growth with expansion globally being a huge possibility.

The firm, through its technological innovation, provides a range of services including independent drugs and alcohol laboratory analysis, workplace investigations, drugs and alcohol solutions, social science support to confidentially identify workplace culture, drugs and alcohol training packages and 0800 whistle blowing services.

Mr Hall added: “All this will work will be managed from our high tech laboratories in NETPark and it will help us achieve our goal of a £30 million turnover by 2018 and strengthen our reputation as one of the world’s leading drugs and alcohol testing service providers in the UK.

“Our company’s rapid success and expansion is due to other providers not focusing on what employers really want. Employers tell us that other market providers are cost prohibitive, slow to respond and involved in too many other areas of lab work such as NHS work and pregnancy test kits They told us that their needs were not being met as other providers were less forthcoming with the right solutions.

“So we have listened to employers, addressed these needs and our work has paid off. We are solely dedicated to supporting the employer in managing all aspects of workplace drug and alcohol abuse and its correlation to criminality.

“CSI has a unique and complete range of services to deal with drugs, alcohol, criminality and other issues that migrate between the workplace and society. This in turn has benefits to the local communities where employers operate.

“We know we have the right business model as this has been tried and tested across a wide variety of industries over the last 20 years. This experience and research is reflected in our business growth and our plan is to build on this success both nationally and internationally.”

Mr Hall, who spent most of his career in the Military Services, Police Force and as an International Corporate Investigator before setting up CSI added:

“Our target is to take on 100,000 tests (drugs and alcohol) in the first year with this figure rising to 500,000 tests within three years. So far, we have invested £1million to make this business work with substantially more investment to follow as we move forward.

“We currently have 16 staff based at our laboratory at NETPark which I expect to rise to 80 within three years when we will be working 24/7.

“We are taking in university interns from January 2014 and will be starting an apprenticeship scheme for laboratory technicians in in April 2014. We also provide additional work for 250 collectors around the UK, Europe and other parts of the world.

“Our high tech facilities based at Sedgefield deliver a unique service to companies here in the North East as well as the UK and beyond, and our plan is to expand outside of Europe and the UK.”

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