Finley Structures of Aycliffe saw turnover jump to £16.4m by the end of March this year – up by £3.1m on 2014. During that time, the steel fabrication firm has also taken on eight new employees – boosting staff numbers to 68 – while working on high-profile contracts across the region.
Finley Structures fabricated and erected 2,000 tonnes of steel which makes up the frame for Hitachi Rail Europe’s new £82m train-assembling factory on Aycliffe Business Park.
The firm has also worked on a 2,300-tonne project at the Victoria Gate shopping centre in Leeds – a deal worth close to £4m.
During the 2014-15 financial year, they also built Nissan’s new Leaf factory, the Sports Village in Middlesbrough and a 300-tonne frame for the £38m National Biologics Centre in Darlington. In addition, Finleys completed a 500-tonne project for Teesside University and a 620-tonne contract for the University of Sheffield’s Advanced Manufacturing and Research Centre to round-up a busy year.
Its sister company, nearby SCH Site Services which employs 36 people, continues to perform strongly, while Finley’s also launched the ROF 59 activity centre. at Aycliffe Business Park which employs another 15 full-time and 15 part-time staff.
Joint managing director Julie Finley says it’s been a hugely positive and progressive period for the firm. “The construction industry continues to have its challenges but it has been an exceptional year for the Finley group,” she said.
The financial performance for the year end March 2015 has been largely down to the two large, contracts in Hitachi for Shepherd Construction and Victoria Gate for Sir Robert McAlpine.
“During the timescale of the Hitachi contract alone we took on eight new staff – four in the office and four on the shop floor – to cope with the amount of extra work, which means we’re up to record employee levels.”
Earlier this year, Finley Structures won a multi-million-pound contract to build new schools across the region with major contractor Galliford Try, a national firm which has offices across the UK including Washington, Tyne and Wear.
The family firm has also won a number of other new contracts, including a 270-tonne project for Interserve at York University’s Biomed Building, a 600-tonne contract at Navigation Park in Enfield for A&H Construction and a 430-tonne job for Sir Robert McAlpine at Workington Academy in Cumbria – which are all currently on site.
“There’s a lot going on and we’re now working on more contracts outside the North East region,” added Julie.
“We’re especially delighted to be working on projects with new clients as we continue to strengthen the excellent relationships we already have with all the major contractors. It certainly continues to be a hugely positive time for the company.”
Founded by John Finley in 2000, Finley Structures has three sites on Aycliffe Business Park – its head office and main factory on Whinbank Road, its SCH site on Beaumont Way and its new ROF 59 site on Durham Way South
Joint MD Julie Finley
