Quality service ensures sales pass £10m landmark for Birley

The Sheffield-based company said that its 2012 turnover rose from £9.2m the previous year, while pre-tax profits climbed from £314,000 to £370,000.

The company, which specialises in the design and manufacture of interior environments and rail carriage equipment, employs over 90 staff.

It works in sectors including retail, industrial, rail and leisure, with clients including Waitrose, HSBC, the NHS and First Great Western Trains.

Steve English, managing director, said: “2012 was a great year for Birley, ending with a strong fourth quarter and some important new business wins to take us into 2013.

“In today’s difficult financial climate our end of year results of over £10m are a fantastic achievement and testament to the hard work and commitment put in by everyone at Birley.”

The company, which employs more than 90 staff, said it has “gone from strength to strength over the past decade, consolidating its core skills and seeking out new markets”.

Birley has been in existence, under different guises, since 1875. The company has operated independently since 2005 after it was de-centralised from the Barlow Group.

Jim Gilbert, operations director, said that the company took on two apprentices last month in metals and joinery, taking the total number of apprentices to four.

“The owner of the business, Michael Barlow, likes to see investment in young people from local areas,” he said.

Commenting on Birley’s annual results for 2012, Mr Gilbert said: “I think a focus on six sectors made sure that we were never exposed fully to variants in any one sector.”

He added: “Good quality service in a cost effective manner – it is an old cliché but it really is what keeps customers coming back to you and that’s the success, it really is as simple as that.

“In the heady days of 2000 to 2006/07 some businesses became complacent, whereas we are heavily focused on clients’ needs and customer satisfaction.”

In September this year, Birley aims to invest around £350,000 in a new machine, which punches out shapes and profiles from metal sheets, to replace an existing piece of machinery. Mr Gilbert said that the new equipment will improve efficiency.

Earlier in the year Birley made changes to its board of directors.

The company saw former sales manager Darren Smith join the board as sales director, while Jim Gilbert, formerly manufacturing director, became operations director.

The two joined Mr English, and company secretary Tracey Roberts, on the newly formed board.

On the future plans for the business, Mr Smith said: “The plan this year is to carry on serving the clients we’ve got now and to explore the benefits of those more and more, so to grow what we have with those.”

Mr Smith also said that the business will be targeting rail opportunities, as the industry is seeing major investment by the Government, as well as the Department for Education’s Priority School Building programme, which aims to rebuild or improve the condition of 261 schools.