Insulation strategy at JT Dove

Apr 25 2008 by Chris Knox, The Journal

BUILDERS merchant JT Dove has launched a new company which aims to help the region reduce carbon emissions.

The Newcastle-based firm has set up a new arm, JTD Systems, to provide the North East construction sector with specialist insulation as well as dry lining, fire protection and noise reduction materials.

The firm has invested £300,000 in the venture, which is part of a five-year growth plan which it hopes will grow its £34m turnover to around £70m by 2011, as well as add 40 staff to its 200-strong workforce by the end of the year.

Dove, which has 11 sites stretching from southern Scotland to North Yorkshire, is also on the verge of moving out of its headquarters in the Stephenson Quarter, behind the Central Station in Newcastle, in order to move its main operations to three satellite sites around the city. The new arm has been set up to help diversify the firm’s market as it tries to dampen the effects of the credit crunch, which has already hit the construction sector hard.

Colin Campbell, joint manager at JTD Systems, said: “With the Government directive focusing on ensuring that the country is reducing carbon emissions, it seemed sensible for us to expand and develop a company that could offer the right assistance at the right price.

“We have only just opened and already we are experiencing a high demand for our products, which just goes to show what a hole in the market there really was.”

The firm believes the new arm can achieve a £2m turnover in its first year, with the potential to grow to £14m in five years as environmentally friendly housing becomes more popular.

Steve Robinson, managing director at JT Dove, said: “The new business allows us to service a growing trend as well as protect our future.”