Building firm celebrates winning major contracts (From The Northern Echo)

Building firm celebrates winning major contracts

12:38pm Friday 21st May 2010 in North-East Business News By Owen McAteer

A CONSTRUCTION company, which managed to avoid making redundancies in the downturn, has taken on more staff after winning millions of pounds worth of contracts.

Randall Orchard Construction, based in Richmond, North Yorkshire, has taken on nine tradesmen in the past month and could potentially take on more over the next few weeks.

The firm has secured six contracts worth more than £3m in the first quarter of the year.

The projects include a cricket and sports pavillion at Barnard Castle School, in County Durham, five cottages in Richmond and a number of other developments in North Yorkshire and County Durham, including housing.

Over the same period, the company has also completed sales on 20 per cent of its housing stock, comprising a mixture of new projects and older properties that had remained unsold during the recession.

It coincides with figures released yesterday by Communities and Local Government department showing the number of new homes being built in England rose to its highest level for nearly two years during the first quarter of this year.

Randall Orchard managing director Graeme Newton, who has worked for the company for 24 years, said: “I am optimistic about the year ahead.

The order book is filling up and there are more inquiries coming in.

“We managed things really carefully so that we could avoid any redundancies during the construction crisis but it was not easy, and after two years of flat staffing levels, it’s great to be taking on new workers.

“We have taken on nine blokes in the last few weeks and there is every chance that in the next month or two we could be taking on a couple more.”

Mr Newton, who took over the firm in 2004, added: “I have four or five inquiries at the moment. There were periods last year where it took me two months to get that many decent inquiries.”

Although Mr Newton believes the industry is beginning to pick up, particularly at the more modest end of the housing market, he points out that the jobs secured were as a result of the firm’s hard work.

He said: “We have had a little bit of a good run, but some of these jobs are in negotiation for months and have only become a reality recently.

“We’re thrilled to have seen such a dramatic upturn so far this year, but these are still difficult times for the construction industry, so we are taking nothing for granted.”

The company, based on the Gallowfields estate, in Richmond, was established in 1976 and has been part of the newroc group since 2004.