Specialist in repair kept busy in thrifty time
Mar 20 2009 by Chris Knox, The Journal
CONSTRUCTION company St Astier believes it can maintain its turnover after securing a number of prominent contracts, including refurbishing Gateshead’s MetroCentre.
The firm at Seaham in County Durham believes its role as a specialist in refurbishment and reconstruction will see it through the recession and enable it to retain annual sales of about £4m.
Its experience as a contractor on listed buildings has allowed it to build up an order book of about £1m and double its turnover since starting up in 2004, when sales were £400,000.
The firm, which employs 35 people, was recently subcontracted by Hertfordshire construction group Sir Robert McAlpine to replace concrete flooring at the MetroCentre.
The £215,000 project, which will be completed by the end of the month, involves the repair and replacement of concrete slabs in the Yellow Mall, which was one of the original sections of the site, built in 1988.
St Astier now hopes to land work on the Blue Mall, as the £45m remodeling of the centre continues under owner Capital Shopping Centres, which plans to introduce new leisure attractions and dining areas. St Astier marketing manager Phil Brown said: “We are doing better than some other builders as we concentrate primarily on refurbishments rather than on new-build contracts, and although I don’t believe our turnover will increase this year, I don’t believe it will go down either.”
The firm, which has two satellite offices in Newcastle and Leeds, has also been resurfacing five road bridges between Newcastle and Carlisle in a £100,000 contract and has recently carried out £1.4m of work to fit insulation at Beacon Lough housing estate in Gateshead.
The company has also been lending a hand at a mill conversion near Morpeth, Northumberland, where it has reinforced the masonry by installing 36 anchors fitted with threaded rods to allow the fixing of wall plates.
The property, owned by Stefan Lepkowski, managing director of Newcastle’s Karol Marketing, will eventually include a second building and will become a unique living space for his young family.
“I think we are one of the few success stories at the moment when you consider how other areas of the industry are performing at the moment,” Mr Brown said. “We are benefiting from the fact that local councils have an obligation to fund vital infrastructure projects, including roads, as well as important restoration projects.”
