Certex

Source: Energy Digital

Date :18/02/2008 17:21:47

When Charles Gillespie and two of his colleagues bought Certex from Bridon International, few could have predicted their success. Exec finds out where the company intends to go from here

Written by Lucy Mowatt and produced by Alex Smith

In 2005 Bridon International looked to divest the operations of its lifting equipment value-added distribution company in order to focus its attention on its primary manufacturing role. Certex is now a company privately owned by Charles Gillespie, Sales and Marketing Director, Tony Stringer, MD and Kevin Smith, the company’s operations director and it is focused on expanding within its domestic market and building on successful partnerships.

As part of Bridon International, Certex was a company with facilities around the world. However, since it was divested each Certex company is individual, and they are only united by name. “We continued to have some communication with the European companies and share information on sourcing products and so on,” Gillespie explains. This can often help Certex UK to get the best for their customer.

Certex UK sources the majority of its supplies within the UK and Europe, with less than ten percent coming from other countries, such as the Elephant brand from Japan. “Certex has built its reputation on providing high quality and safe products to our customers. We have long term relationships with suppliers so we regard them as an extension of our capabilities and that gives an enhanced service to our customers,” Charles Gillespie states.

“We have 16 locations in the UK which range from Aberdeen to Plymouth. We have two specialist divisions within that; one is Certex Offshore, which is based in Aberdeen and Great Yarmouth, and the other is Certex Defence which has facilities within the naval dockyards in Devonport and Portsmouth,” says Gillespie.

Market diversification

Certex has traditionally been strong in manufacturing, offshore, engineering and the ports sector and offers product supply, inspection, repair and maintenance, certification systems and training, providing a complete lifting management service for its clients. In more recent times Certex has looked at developing its offering to a wider number of industries including marine, utilities and with the acquisition of GDP, the defence sector.

In recent years, Certex has worked with BAE Systems on behalf of the MoD to ensure the vessels are equipped with a working rigging warrant prior to the sale of frigates to the Chilean Navy. “We offer a complete consultancy package which includes surveying equipment on vessels and given it either a clean bill of health or a recommendation that it should be changed and then we’ve been involved in procuring new equipment so that when the frigate is sold it is up to scratch in terms of equipment,” Gillespie explains. “Certex has an enviable reputation as a supplier of high quality Lifting products and Services and are skilled in providing bespoke, high specification lifting products to the exacting requirements of the marine, shipyard and ports sectors. This combined with the Certex Defence experienced personnel, rigging manufacture and service station, allow solutions to be quickly identified and make the company the ideal partner for providing a complete solution to the Defence sector”

The company’s focus in other markets is providing a complete range of lifting products and services to its customers. “One of our biggest customers is Corus Steel,” Charles Gillespie explains. For more than 25 years Certex, which is ISO 9001 certified, has had a contract with the company and has been able to build a close relationship which means Certex is covers between 65 and 70 percent of Corus’ lifting needs.

“Our approach with Corus has been to support them in value-and-use initiatives and that involves us looking at the whole life-cycle costs of the equipment that they use. This has involved performing trials of high-performance products so that they can increase the length of time that a component lasts on their equipment,” continues Gillespie.

Some of the ropes that Certex has provided to the company have had their lifecycles extended; instead of lasting six to nine months they can last up to 24 months on heavily used equipment. This reduces expensive downtime and installation costs and increases the availability of assets to increase throughput.

Long term relationships with customers are something that Certex prides itself in: alongside lifting gear sales and product hire, the company offers repair and maintenance services as well as product thorough examination and testing. Certex’s reputation is built on top quality, around-the-clock, 365-days-a-year service and its customer portfolio includes a large number of high profile companies.

As part of its service commitment, Certex insists that its staff are fully trained and experienced in the complexities of the offshore environment and the company’s engineers are amongst the most highly qualified in the industry. For instance, someone tasked with conducting statutory LOLER platform surveys and ad hoc lifting and testing activities will hold, as minimum, LEEA (Lifting Equipment Engineers Association) diplomas. For specific offshore work, staff will also have the Bridon Wire Rope Examiners’ qualification; the ASNT level 2 and the Offshore Pedestal Crane Examiners’ Diploma. And, when conducting offshore rigging activities, Certex engineers hold specialist OPITO (Oil Producers Institute Training Organisation) qualifications to enable competent lifting and slinging activities.

He goes on to say that customers use the service because it allows them to focus on their main business rather than on worrying whether their lifting equipment is safe and serviceable.

Acquiring expertise

Acquisitions are on the agenda for Certex, a company with its head office in Harworth near Doncaster. Not only was Global Defence Procurement purchased in 2005, but in 2007 Certex bought Ropetek which is based in Caerphilly. The company has added to Certex’s product range and expertise, which reflects the company’s reasoning behind Certex’s acquisitions. “One of the important things is that we buy a company and have the local management that comes with it. We believe that if they are a successful business it’s down to the local management and we will look at companies where the management would join us,” Gillespie explains.

It has also invested in developing its own facilities. In September 2006, the company opened a new lifting centre in Aberdeen. This provides customers with the full range of products and services that they have enjoyed from the Certex Great Yarmouth facility. This site allowed Certex to build on its already successful market in the southern region of the North Sea by being closer to its offshore customers.

In addition, Certex has invested in a new three acre combined head office, warehouse and production facility based in Harworth, Nottinghamshire. Certex has spent more than £400,000 on equipping the site with new production equipment within a 48,000 square feet warehouse and production facility. “The design and layout of the workshop was created in conjunction with the whole workforce based there, meaning that we have a lifting gear and rigging facility which is arguably the best of its kind in the UK,” Gillespie says. By utilising the expertise of its people the company’s new site will benefit from increased efficiency and more effective work flow.

Steady growth

185 people work for Certex UK in total, which has grown from 150 people just three years ago. The company is growing, and as such it has to invest in the development of its entire workforce. It is a member of the Lifting Equipment Engineers Association and encourages all of its employees to undertake the Association’s correspondence courses to make sure they are up to speed. “We also put the management at the production warehouse unit through a four months training programme to improve their management and leadership skills and likewise, our sales people are involved in a long term development process using an outside company,” Gillespie says.

A formal training program will also be developed for its whole workforce in the future to ensure that all of the company’s needs are met. Gillespie explains that Certex also takes on management trainees with the aim of getting them to junior management level. These recruits are given experience across each area of the business and remote locations so that they understand how it operates at each level and are prepared for management responsibilities.

“We’ve gone, in the last three years, from something like £12.5 million in turnover to a projected turnover of £18 million this year ... and we want to maintain that growth strategy and focus on particular market sectors which are buoyant such as the North Sea offshore market,” Charles Gillespie concludes. With this strategy in mind Certex looks certain to continue with its steady expansion, gaining new customers and partnerships.

Click here to read the corporate brochure on Certex