Shropshire lift firm is on the up after move to new HQ

Belvidere Lifts has left the Rural Enterprise Centre for a new home nearby in Yeomanry Road on Shrewsbury's Battlefield Enterprise Park, and is now aiming to use the change of scenery as the platform for expansion.

Steve Nankivell, who set up the company in 2003, hopes the move will help the company continue its steady growth in turnover since launching by expanding by 25 per cent in the next two years.

He said: "This is an important step for our company and gives us a solid platform from which to enter the next stage of our development.

"It's always a difficult decision to make moving to larger premises, especially during a recession when funds are tight, but we now have a very professional office, stores and workshop and enough space to accommodate further growth and take on more people."

Belvidere specialises in maintenance, service, repairs, modernisation, breakdowns and new installations across Shropshire, the Midlands and Wales, and has worked on a number of high-profile buildings.

These include the installation of the lifts on the Welsh Assembly in Cardiff – the seat of the Welsh Government – as well as in two of Telford's best-known buildings, Telford Plaza and The International Centre.

Mr Nankivell has gone from running the business on his own to employing eight people, and last year enjoyed turnover of £850,000. The company hopes its new premises, which boasts office space, a warehouse, conference facilities, meeting and training rooms, will help it pass £1 million for the first time.

Belvidere are fully accredited to globally recognised standards in health and safety and have recently been awarded ISO9001 and 2008 accreditation for quality and environmental management systems.

Mr Nankivell added: "The team have worked extremely hard to achieve this and along with the lift regulations and as members of LEIA, the trade body association, this gives our clients the added confidence and reassurance when placing large contracts with ourselves.

"While the majority of the workforce is from within the family, more than 15 engineers can be out in the field at any one time dealing with installations, urgent breakdowns, servicing and completing major refurbishment projects.

"The main reason I started the firm was because the bigger companies I worked for had lost their customer service ethos – in short, I knew there was an opportunity for another company to come into the market and do things very differently. We strive for total customer satisfaction and are very much committed to quality.

"This is exactly what we've tried to do and in the nine years we've been operating it is an approach that has been welcomed by clients both large and small. The personal touch has gone out of business these days and we are trying to put it back."