Growing Total now seeking new home
A fast growing Wolverhampton business is looking for a new site that can cope with its future growth.
Since 2013 Total Construction Supplies has gone from annual turnover of £3.7 million to nealry £13m for 2016-2017.
It has also increased its workforce from 34 to more than 120 over the same period.
The company, which specialises in reinforcement mesh and steel pile cage manufacturing, has been helped with its growth through the Green Shoots Fund, which the Express & Star established in 2013.
Managing director Mathew Hague said that the first Green Shoots funding of £42,000 in 2014 had enabled the creation of six jobs and the follow up Green Shoots Plus support of ££90,00 had seen another 10 taken on.
In March the company moved its piling division, which employs 45, to the 65,000 sq ft former Ashworths site in Neachells Lane, Wednesfield.
It has invested £500,000 in machinery for the site, including a machine for making the cages for the steel bars used in the piles, which can be made to clients exact specifications. A second such machine will also soon be installed.
Total Construction Supplies, whose other directors are sales director Craig Gibbons and production director Christopher Duff, started on the Wulfrun Trading Estate, off Stafford Road, Wolverhampton, in 1998 and later moved to Willenhall.
In 2013 it moved to its current headquarters at Pinnacle Point, Boundary Industrial Estate, Fordhouses, where it has 80,000 sq ft and employs 80. It also houses its production of its Swiftform formwork product and personal protection and site equipment manufacture.
Mr Hague said that in the next two years the aim was to move to a new site with over 200,000 sq ft to bring everything back together.
"With the growing demand for piling big infrastructure projects like HS2 are a dream for us.
"We just need to have the space to grow into," he explained.
He said the business was currently operating 24 hours Monday to Friday at both of its sites.
Total has also won £1m work on the Midland Metropolitan Hospital project in Smethwick and is also keen to win more schools and housing foundation work.
Mr Hague said they had been working with Wolverhampton City Council for three years to identify a suitable "super" site so Total could stay in its home city and hoped to be able to make a move in the next two years.
"We are tight for room and with more space can enter our next phase of growth. We can easily get enough work to take on another 50 people.
Mr Hague said Total was one of only five companies in the country who had achieved the CARES approval for the welding on its piling cages.
"It has costs us £100,000 to get that certificate that guarantees all of our welds are properly tested," he added.
The company is also investing heavily in training all its new staff and ensuring they were capable of multi tasking and as flexible as possible.
Total has also invested in building up its fleet of mainly articulated lorries and trailers to 22 vehicles.
It delivers its finished products direct to the construction sites of its clients.
*Mr Hague, who is proud to be from Wolverhampton, has just upped his sponsorship of Wolverhampton Schools FA to £4,000 so teams can play at Tettenhall College in 2017-2018.
His two sons play for the district FA team and this is third season of sponsoring the age group teams.
"I wants to encourage more youngsters to play for the district teams and engender pride in the city," he added.
