A Fife company that supplies steel materials to some of the UK’s biggest building projects is targeting further growth with a turnover target for the year of £20 million.
Pipe & Piling Supplies of Glenrothes is a leading provider of fabricated steel to the rail infrastructure and civil engineering sectors.
Key customers include Network Rail and Balfour Beatty on projects including London’s Canary Wharf Crossrail Station and Terminal 2B at Heathrow.
In the year to February 2015 the company achieved a 68.5% rise in turnover at £13.9m. Pre-tax profit rose to £1m an 80.5% increase.
Managing director Alistair Cochrane said: “Over the past few years PPS has benefited substantially from investment in Britain’s rail network and infrastructure.
“I’m extremely proud of the fact that we have contributed to some of the UK’s most high-profile and complex building projects.
“Building strong customer relationships has also been crucial to our success. Our clients need us to be reliable, so we put a great deal of effort into ensuring that when we undertake contracts they are competitive and delivered within budget and timescale.”
The firm’s growth has seen it create high quality jobs, with the recent recruitment of three graduate engineers, and a number of apprentices are due to be hired in the months ahead.
He continued: “Our recent results will be a hard act to follow but we have ambitious expansion plans.
“I’m confident we can deliver steady growth and continue to take advantage of exciting developments in the marketplace.”
Gross margins of 15% are set to continue and the projected turnover for the current year is up 44% at £20m.
PPS has a low overhead base, with eight management and administrative staff. Its headquarters are at Dalton Road, Glenrothes, and stock is held at a site in Yorkshire.
The Canary Wharf Crossrail Station is part of the biggest construction project in Europe, with a total budget of £14.8 billion. More than 10,000 people are working to lay in excess of 100km of track across the capital for a route that will be used by an estimated 200 million passengers a year.
The Canary Wharf station, due to open in 2018, has won international acclaim for its innovative engineering and design.
Built in 10m-deep dock water, the site required a specially constructed cofferdam for which PPS supplied anchor piles.