Member Article

Barnsley industrial installation entrepreneurs to hit £1 million turnover in first year trading

Barnsley specialist installation company LWG Solutions, set up by entrepreneurs Rob Longley and Shaun Whyman after losing their jobs at the defunct Galglass, is set to turnover £1 million in its first year of trading.

LWG Solutions installs large steel circular tanks used for everything from storing water for sprinkler systems to sewage, and already has clients in about a dozen countries including Turkmenistan, Pakistan, Myanmar, Brazil, Peru and Latvia.

The company, which employs 23 people and is looking for more staff, was set up last summer by Rob Longley and Shaun Whyman who lost their jobs when Barnsley storage tank manufacturer Galglass went into administration.

Rob said: “When Galglass closed it meant there were dozens of people in Barnsley who had skills and expertise in building and installing storage tanks and that skills-base was just going to waste.

“On the other hand there were companies who needed storage tanks installing and no one to do the work. So we were able to step in to an obvious gap in the market.”

Since it was set up, LWG Solutions, which is based at Cudworth, has been given free coaching by business support programme Enterprising Barnsley, which is run by Barnsley Council.

One of LWG Solutions’ first jobs was a former Galglass contract in Canada to install four steel anaerobic digester tanks, which create biogas.

After successfully completing that contract, LWG Solutions contacted all the major tank manufacturers offering to carry out installation work.

Projects coming up are in countries as diverse as Morocco, Thailand, Cameroon and Saudi Arabia. In the first seven months of trading the company has turned over about £650,000. With a full order book, that figure is expected to top £1 million in the first year.

Enterprising Barnsley has helped LWG Solutions expand with advice in sales, marketing and HR, and the creation of a new website.

Steve Hawkins, of Enterprising Barnsley, said: “LWG is a young company that’s going places, and it’s great to see a skilled team of people continuing their careers locally.

“The company’s expansion has been very impressive and with the orders still coming in it looks set to continue.”

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