Builders clinch start-up award

Jul 25 2007 by Tony McDonough, Liverpool Daily Post

A SPECIALIST building company in has been named as one of the top start-up businesses in the North West.

Widnes-based SIP Build has out-performed hundreds of firms to become a regional winner in the 2007 HSBC Start-Up Stars Awards.

The national contest, now in its seventh year, is designed to find the most promising new businesses in the UK and to recognise the entrepreneurial talents.

David Ball, 44, Dr Sanjay Pitalia, 44, and Peter Barr, 32, who started SIP Build one year and 10 months ago, are now hoping to clinch one of the top titles and take a share of the awards’ prizes, worth a total of £85,000 this year.

SIP Build, it is claimed, is set to revolutionise the future of house building in the UK. The company designs, manufactures and builds housing using SIPs – structural insulated panels.

The eco-friendly building material comes from sustainable and managed plantations, using 50% less wood than a conventional timber frame building, and is 10 times more efficient in terms of insulation than traditional materials.

In the UK, SIP Build is battling the forces of conservatism to gain wider acceptance for the product and is confident that the obvious benefits of such an environmentally friendly material will overcome doubts about a new building method.

SIP Build has grown rapidly over the past 18 months and now leads the UK market in its field. Currently building 359 SIP houses in Manchester, as well as two hotels and over 30 self-build projects currently on site, they have recently signed an agreement with a leading UK housebuilder which should see a major increase in production.

tonymcdonough@dailypost.co.uk