Peter Elson meets Tony Meadows,managing director of Proweld

BUSINESS was so tough for eight months during the recession that Proweld boss Tony Meadows took no salary and had to live on credit cards.

He knew when the credit crunch started as the automotive industry unexpectedly cancelled all of its monthly orders, worth up to £100,000.

But now a £1m nuclear project has transformed prospects for the Ellesmere Port engineering services, welding, piping, refit and fabrication company and its inspection sister firm Quality Assurance NDE, which mostly work in the petro-chemical, chemical and food industries.

Although Meadows, Proweld’s founder and managing director, smiles wryly on being reminded that the Government is putting the onus of recovery on companies like his.

“There’s a real image problem for engineering, and the Government turned its back on us for 20 years in favour of financial services,” he said.

“Now they’ve suddenly put us in the spotlight after letting the banking system get out of control and nearly wrecking the country.

“So there has been a lack of engineering training. Add to this the nuclear power renaissance and there will be mayhem in two years’ time.

“There will not be enough skilled fabricators in the UK to cope with the building programme.

“The best welders are 55 or older, which is why we’re training seven apprentices, three of whom have won major national awards.”

The day of reckoning will be soon. The first nuclear power station to be refurbished will be Wylfa, Anglesey, with civil work finished in two years.

“That’s why we’ve already been to Paris to meet EDF Energy managers, as it is crucial they know we are ready to go,” said Meadows, 45.

Proweld has secured a £350,000 Enterprise Finance Guarantee (EFG) loan from Lloyds TSB Commercial.

Crown Paints, in Darwen, has become Proweld’s single biggest single purchase order at £750,000 for renewing tanks, which could rise to £2m.

Born in Wallasey, Meadows went to Woodchurch High School and started as an apprentice welder at Cammell Laird Shipyard, Birkenhead, when he was 16 years old, where his grandfather had been a foreman.

“I was nothing special at school, but this was a three-year government training scheme, which allowed me a year at college, and I realised it mattered and got my head down.

“This was my big chance. I went into non-destructive testing radiography and got all my certificates.”

Within seven years, he was a regional manager with BP at its Grangemouth Refinery.

“It was fantastic. I met and married my wife, Jennifer, who has been with me in business since day one.”

When BP abandoned these projects, he returned to Wirral.

“I got into welding inspection for the massive UK Construction, a leading mechanical engineering company, working on and off for them over 15 years as a sub-contractor.

“They threw you in at the deep end with quality control meetings.

“That’s what gave me a foundation to open a company and move it to the level we are now at.

“We’re competing with the biggest UK companies, using the same service, health and safety certifications.

“The whole thing actually started when I was an inspector and was asked if I could do two six-inch welds as a freelance.

“Then they wanted another 15 and I was in my garage welding away until 10 or 11pm at night.

“I set up a meeting to ask how much work was available, and did a business plan to see if it was viable.

“We moved to a little workshop unit at Stone Manganese, in Birkenhead, which lasted eight years.

“My welding set was not big enough and I had to strap a big fan to keep cool so it wouldn’t burn out. Soon we were machining items.

“Jennifer was working part-time on the invoices, and quickly knew the difference between flange types in a way not many girls know.”

They have two sons, Cameron, 11, and Ross, 17, who has done his first year as an apprentice welder.

“Ross is very like me and has done his first year at college. He’ll go onto university to study mechanical engineering and can work anywhere.

“More work meant a move next door, up from 1,000 sq ft to a 3,000 sq ft unit, with a workforce of 12 people.

“That’s when we got our ISO 9001 Quality Management Systems for welding accreditation. A lot of companies won’t give you work unless you’ve got the right QMS.

“We really started to pick up more business, working a lot of days from 7am to 10pm, seven days a week. We didn’t go on holiday for five years.”

Proweld became a limited company in 2004 and moved to Rossmore Industrial Estate, at Ellesmere Port, where orders multiplied, and with a staff of 25 people.

“However, we were lucky that, unlike a massive company, we didn’t have the same overheads,” he said.

“UK Construction had the best welders in the business and, as its work dried up, they were laid off and we took them on. Clients could not believe the quality of the service and speed we turned things around.

“As clients got bigger, we needed better premises on which to meet them and we came to Olympia Park, Poole Hall Road, 18 months ago, to a 20,000 sq ft new facility.

“We planned to do this in three to four years and have managed it in a year and a half, with 50-60 staff.

“It was our biggest step coming here, as our rents and rates tripled, but it was worth it.”

Turnover for this year will be around £2.2m, but for the previous two years was £3m. In the next 12 months, it is likely to be £5m.

“We were heavily involved in the automotive industry with Land Rover and Toyota,” he said.

“When the credit crunch began, it was like an electric light switch being flicked off.

“We didn’t see it coming as we had a steady account of £50k-£100,000 coming in monthly. Then one month it stopped; the speed was breathtaking.

“For 18 months, there was nothing – they didn’t spend a bean. Luckily, we’d just diversified into fuel storage tank installation and repair.

“I didn’t pay myself for eight months and we lived on credit cards costing us £40,000, which I’m relieved to say we’ve paid off.” When Russia threatened to stop its gas exports, the UK was exposed as having only one week’s supply, so Proweld is working with Halford Gas Storage to use caverns.

“It’s a controversial subject as everyone realises the importance, but nobody wants it on their doorstep,” he said.

“A big storage project in Fleetwood has been trying to get planning permission for three years.

“Bizarrely enough, we’ve also just started a big project with Jaguar Halewood, with 12 men on days and 12 men on nights.

“Hopefully, this means the economy is really on the turn, with car manufacturers seeing sales rise as people have more cash.

“The automotive industry is so important to UK manufacturing as it has such a vast supply chain.”

Proweld has also been accredited with environmental and safety certificates to work in the nuclear industry, which is the next big thing.

“The nuclear industry won’t touch you if you don’t have the right paperwork, but this work opens doors on an entirely new level for us as a supplier,” said Meadows.

“We’ve done a small project at Sellafield, and as we have the requirements this now means we can talk to the big design houses, such as Costain and Jacobs Engineering, who do the really huge industry packages.”

Meadows also bought major shares in welding and radiography inspection company Quality Assurance NDE, as a companion to Proweld Engineering Services.

“Quality Assurance has just won the biggest new-build nuclear project in 20 years at Sellafield’s highly Active Liquid Evaporator D.

“Potentially it’s worth £1m and given Quality Assurance’s best year was a £1.2m turnover and last year it went down to £300,000.

Meadows hired Lee Harris as business development manager, a big help in finding new clients.

“That was our big issue: the company was growing by word of mouth, but we were only using 40% of our production capability.

“We’ve got a lot to play for. Looking back, I’m surprised myself as I never dreamt we’d reach this point.”