Twenty-five and still growing
Established in 1985 by founder Steve Holding, the maxim ‘divide and multiply’ has never been more apt as when applied to the diverse major utility and industrial support group that is now Telford based SP Holdings.
Twenty five years ago with one tractor and several Bowsers, the company offered spot hire to the building and agricultural industries. Steve as a one-man operation was involved extensively in contracting work on such prestigious schemes as the Ironbridge and Shrewsbury Bypasses, Manchester Airport and extensive Tankering Waste work for Severn Trent Water. This quickly flourished and the business continued to grow, adding other products and services including transport services, drainage work and plant hire and today the company now works with many blue chip companies both within and out of the water industry. The business has gone from strength to strength, based on the delivery of high quality products and services within strategically linked markets, resulting in a company that currently turns over in excess of £7.5m. The winning of awards such as ‘Company of the Year’ at the 2009 Shropshire Business Awards event only serves to re-enforce the company’s high profile and mark its successful progress.
The Group’s core operation Drainage Division provides a range of drainage services to the industrial, agricultural and utilities sectors as well as directly to homeowners while their Plant & Event hire division offers a complete hire package, including delivery, if required, throughout Shropshire, Mid Wales, the West Midlands and beyond, of plant, tools and equipment and events equipment, including portable and luxury toilet hire. The Vehicle Rental division, following the strategic acquisition of Telford Vehicle Rentals includes cars, vans, trucks, welfare units and specialist drainage vehicles.
Steve Holding says: “This is another positive move for us with regard to offering the equipment and services that our customer base requires. Backed up by our existing expertise in the drainage industry, I am confident that the TVR team will deliver an excellent service to new and existing customers.” In addition, the Metal Fabrication division has now supplied over 1,100 vandal-proof litter bins to Telford & Wrekin Council, as well as a range of park furniture, which can be seen all over Telford Town Park and across the town’s public areas. Additionally, the groups Field & Farm shop business sells a range of equine, poultry, shooting and farm products.
Steve who founded the business at the tender age of seventeen, says, “With 2010 bringing our twenty-fifth anniversary and the company having grown into a business which now employs around seventy staff, it is perhaps a good time to re-affirm our business ethos. My philosophy remains one of maintaining the ‘family-run’ ethic applied from day one and taking an active hands-on approach in the day-to-day running of the business to ensure the high levels of customer service we have established are maintained. Receiving the Shropshire Business award last year confirmed to us that our hard work is taking the business in the right direction and gave us an excellent boost to continue to grow and prosper in spite of the recession. Our latest venture, set for launch in September this year, is the establishing of an on site Renault Truck Service and Parts dealership and VOSA approved commercial vehicle MOT testing facility.
We continue to invest in our staff and marketing and promoting the business to ensure we offer the best equipment and service possible. One of our current focuses is ‘buying local’ wherever possible, in order to contribute towards the local economic recovery. We remain a business that looks for business opportunities to further develop and grow”
