Major milestone for family-owned contractor.
After three generations of family management, Birmingham-based demolition experts Coleman & Company celebrates 50 years in business today. Managing director Mark Coleman, grandson of founders John and Norah Coleman, says the golden milestone is a “massive achievement” for the family business, which had a turnover of £15.5 millon last year.
Despite the difficult economic environment investment in people, facilities and equipment has helped Coleman & Company to buck the trend of decline in the construction industry.
Profit margins are increasing and the firm has taken on 40 additional staff in the last 12 months thanks to a string of successful projects. This is in addition to more short-term contracts for locally employed project staff on a number of high-profile projects including demolition works at Birmingham New Street Station.
Mark Coleman said: “This milestone is a remarkable achievement for any family business and we are extremely proud to not only to celebrate 50 years in business, but to celebrate it with continued success.
“Revenues have gone up and down in recent years as you would expect with the continued economic uncertainty but our profit performance remains healthy and last year’s margin was our best yet. Some sectors in the construction industry are struggling but others, such as utilities and industrial, are presenting real opportunities and we are well placed to deliver them. As the construction industry continues to evolve, we will keep investing in our people and equipment to develop new, innovative methods to reach new sectors and meet changes in customer demand.”
The company was founded in Stechford in 1962 by John and Norah Coleman before their son David took over the helm after John’s death in 1984. David was succeeded as Managing Director by his own son Mark in 2011 and remains Group Chairman of the firm, now based in Great Barr.
Coleman & Company employs 158 people in full time positions with many more in the supply chain working on projects across the UK. It moved to Great Barr in 2006, where it has invested in a purpose-built, six-acre site including the UK’s first urban quarry, a specialist washing plant capable of turning 150,000 tonnes of waste material into recycled sand and gravel each year. This year a further £1.9 million has been invested in new plant and equipment, including the formation of a new diamond cutting company.
The firm has completed a string of high-profile projects in recent years including the deconstruction and demolition of Dunston Rocket in Gateshead and sensitive demolition work at Birmingham New Street Station, for which it was awarded World Demolition Contract of the Year in 2011.
This year it also completed the challenging deconstruction of a gas holder for National Grid in Liverpool – another successful project which has been shortlisted for the same award this year.
“I am extremely proud to be a third generation Coleman working in the family business and delighted to say that the last 50 years have been a great success for Coleman & Company. I sincerely hope that I, and other generations to follow, can build on this and achieve even greater things in the next 50 years,” Mark Coleman says. “This is a true family company, in all senses. Our greatest asset is our people and we want to ensure that as the company progresses we will remain a family business in every way. We may have invested in the latest innovations but without the people that operate, manage, maintain and direct them they are just lumps of metal.”
Coleman & Company is celebrating the golden milestone with a year-long charity initiative called Triple 50, aiming to raise £50,000 for three charities; The Sepsis Unit at Good Hope Hospital, SIFA Fireside and Teenage Cancer Trust . It is also working closely with Sandwell Metropolitan Borough Council to improve a local nature reserve close to the firm’s Great Barr headquarters.
