Member Article

Family Run Business Delivers Repeat Project 22 Years On

The North East’s leading supplier of fabrication and engineering services, Francis Brown, has secured – and has already successfully delivered - a repeat order to provide a replacement ducting vestibule fabrication to one of the world’s largest manufacturers of acrylic-based products, 22 years since it first completed the exact same project.

Now in its fourth generation of family leadership, the Stockton-On-Tees based business has completed the ducting on a vestibule for Lucite International, formerly known as ICI, which will be used at one of the company’s chemical plants located in the Teesside region.

The first order – placed in 1996 – was overseen by the business’s then MD, David Brown and subsequently the new order has been managed by his son and current CEO of the business, Jamie Brown.

Delivered in only a matter of 12 weeks, there has been 10 craftsmen completing the ducting of the vestibule which measures an impressive 7m by 4.5m.

Speaking about the repeat order, Jamie said: “We are delighted that Lucite came back to us after all these years, and the fact that the previous vestibule endured 22 years of vigorous use is true testament to the quality of ducting Francis Brown delivered many years ago. It well and truly has stood the test of time.

“We receive many repeat orders within the business due to our continual improvement combined with the quality of our workmanship and our commitment to do the job safely. However, this particular order held real sentimental value as it has been orchestrated by two generations of the Brown family.

“I remember very clearly working on the first order, which was done very differently back then. Now, working in our far better equipped facilities with more space and larger (50Te) craneage - this allows us to complete the job in a safer, more efficient and higher quality fashion.

“We are seeing a resurgence in investment in some of the chemical processing plants in the region that we worked on before. We have the skills, facilities and enthusiasm to support their equipment upgrades as this project demonstrates.”

Established over 100 years ago the Francis Brown business is one of the very few remaining fabrication and engineering specialists in the region that has the local facilities to undertake a project of this scale and nature.

The company has recently announced that it has secured over £1m worth of business in only a matter of a few weeks. Employing over 100 staff – and with a forecasted growth in turnover of 30% - the company anticipates delivery of the new projects to be completed by the end of the first quarter.

Francis Brown Limited can offer a complete turnkey service to its clients right from design engineering through to full inspection and certification and has carved an impressive reputation in the global offshore and onshore oil and gas, renewables, chemical, nuclear, and rail sectors. The company operates from its head office in Stockton and has specialist manufacturing facilities located across two Teesside sites.

For more information contact: Katherine Rowell Katherine.rowell@scarab4.com 0844 800 2686

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