McCarthy’s looks ahead with confidence as market recovers

MCCARTHY’S has invested £500,000 in new facilities and vehicles to help meet demand for its confidential document disposal services, as the group’s managing director predicts a busy year for its core removals business due to a pick-up in the housing mar- ket.
R Steve Hargadon, Nick Wright and Mike McCarthy of McCarthy's Safe Shred.R Steve Hargadon, Nick Wright and Mike McCarthy of McCarthy's Safe Shred.
R Steve Hargadon, Nick Wright and Mike McCarthy of McCarthy's Safe Shred.

The Leeds-based family-owned business has expanded into a new shredding facility opposite its removals and storage premises on Meanwood Road.

The company has also grown its fleet from one to three shredding vehicles.

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The vehicles collect waste from desks and confidential waste consoles in offices across Yorkshire, before weighing it and destroying it on site.

The latest investment in buying new premises and specialised large scale machinery has been made to help meet demand for the disposal of larger quantities of confidential documents, such as one-off bulk clearances or an annual clear-out at the end of the financial year.

The company is now able to take waste from businesses to the facility, where it is immediately shredded and bailed, dealing with up to five tonnes an hour.

All of the company’s waste is sent to UK paper mills to be recycled into toilet and tissue paper.

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A new sales manager for McCarthy’s Safe Shred business has also been appointed. Steve Hargadon, who is 44 and from Doncaster, brings with him seven years’ experience in the shredding industry.

McCarthy’s managing director, Mike McCarthy, said “Creating the new shredding plant, the procurement of extra on-site shredding vehicles and the appointment of Steve as sales manager, will all allow us to provide services to even more businesses.”

Alongside Safe Shred’s services, McCarthy’s offers archive storage, self storage and commercial and home removals.

The company also offers fully serviced offices for small businesses, located within its Meanwood Road base.

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McCarthy’s has an additional self-storage facility, which opened in Harrogate in 2012.

Traditionally a removals firm, the McCarthy’s fleet consists of 15 vehicles of varying size, along with Britain’s oldest working commercial vehicle – the 1938 Bed- ford.

Mr McCarthy said the group as a whole will turn over £3.8m this year, compared to £3.4m last year. The group employs 48 peo- ple.

McCarthy’s diversified into self-storage and document storage as a result of the housing market downturn.

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But Mr McCarthy said that the housing market is “really starting to come back now”. “We are seeing a lot more completions, at the back end of last year, going into this year, so we expect to be a lot busier on house moving this year.”

Mr McCarthy said he plans to buy further storage sites in the Yorkshire region to expand the business.

Speaking about Safe Shred, Mr McCarthy said: “We’re delighted that the shredding side of the business is doing so well after just 18 months of opera- tion.

“Earlier in the year, we achieved the ISO14001 for environmental management and we’re very proud of the fact that all our shredding waste is sent to UK paper mills, rather than being shipped to China, which is what happens in many cases.

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“Clients can be confident their environmental requirements are being met, and we provide certificates to help them monitor this against their own targets.”

McCarthy’s Safe Shred clients include Leeds City Council, Bradford City Council, Clarion solicitors, Nuffield and Wakefield District Housing.

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