Specialist builder looking worldwide

Wakefield-based Thurston Building Systems remained profitable during the recession, and plans to win work overseas next year.

Thurston has secured work to design, manufacture and deliver 100 specialist blast-resistant site accommodation cabins for a major petro-chemical company.

It is the latest in a string of high- profile contract wins. The company recently signed a 1m contract to design and build maximum security, Category A, custodial suites for West Yorkshire Police.

It has also sealed a 3m agreement to design and build student accommodation including en-suite rooms and external landscaping, at a large university, which the company declined to name for reasons of commercial confidentiality, .

Thurston provides modular and portable buildings, which can be built off-site. The range, which includes hazardous material storage areas, toilets and shower blocks, can be built more quickly than conventional buildings without causing on-site disruption.

Thurston expects to see strong demand for its Surepods, a range of ready-to-install bathrooms and toilets. Surepods can be used on a range of projects, including hotels, apartments, hospitals, student accommodation and social housing. According to Thurston, the Surepod can reduce construction time by as much as 20 per cent.

Jonathan Petch, Thurston's chief executive, said: "The past few years have, of course, been tough in the building industry, and for the economy generally.

"However, Thurston remains a success story, as it has been for the past 40 years, and continues to go from strength to strength. We employ more than 200 employees, operate without a business overdraft, are debt-free and have never posted a loss."

Mr Petch said the company hoped to win more work with police forces around the UK. It is one of a small number of manufacturers in the UK that have achieved approval to work on Category A accommodation, he said. The company may hire more staff it if meets its growth targets.

Mr Petch hopes that the company's full-year turnover will rise from 18m to around 21m or 22m over the next financial year.

Next year, the company plans to develop more products, enter new markets and increase its export activity.

It is also planning to employ more commission-based sales staff to concentrate on its Scottish, Irish and overseas markets.

Mr Petch said the company's growth was largely due to strong financial management and an ability to meet customers' needs at a time of constrained budgets.

Mr Petch joined Thurston in 1997, initially as its sales director. He later became managing director and then chief executive. He has more than 30 years in the portable cabin and equipment hire business.

Before joining Thurston, he was managing director of Sheriff Building Systems for seven years. Under his leadership, Thurston has secured work in the oil, gas, nuclear and petrochemical industries.

Mr Petch said buildings could be built more quickly off-site in an environmentally-friendly, factory-controlled environment. He also highlighted the fact that building work could not be stopped by snow.

"We're still building,'' he said. "A lot of construction sites will have ground to a halt."

The company's Ultrablast range is available as a standalone cabin or larger modular buildings. The range includes control rooms, offices, canteens, toilets and shower blocks.

Ultrablast can withstand the equivalent of an 80-ton force.

A number of workers have recently been killed by explosions in the US, which has highlighted the need for blast-resistant buildings, Mr Petch said. The company is hoping to sell its blast-resistant products in places such as Kuwait as well as the US.