Recycled sheets cement £1m deal
9:45am Tuesday 19th October 2010 in Business News
A COMPANY boss who describes his firm’s early days as being like Steptoe and Son, has just cemented a £1 million deal to supply the building trade.
And the deal could mean extra jobs at Westhoughtonbased Toughsheet, which was started in 1968 by Frank Mercer, who introduced his three sons to the business.
Initially, the family firm collected cardboard to be recycled.
But current owner Doug Mercer, aged 44, who bought out his father and his two brothers, began modernising the firm.
He brought in his sister, Rona Lamont-Brown, to help with the books.
From cardboard through to refuse sacks, the business has developed its own exclusive recycled environmentally friendly membrane, which is used extensively in the building industry.
The multi-million pound company has changed a lot in recent years from its early days manufacturing refuse sacks, a market now dominated by India and China.
Toughsheet has just won a contract worth more than £1 million to supply Buildbase with its Toughsheet Enviro Membrane.
The sheet, used on concrete floors to protect buildings from water, is made from 100 per cent recycled polyethylene.
Toughsheet’s annual turnover was about £7 million this year. Next year, Mr Mercer hopes to top £8.2 million and by 2012 he wants to achieve £10 million.
Its state-of-the-art recycling facilities specialise in making damp proof membranes and other sheeting materials for the building industry.
The company is the second largest producer of damp proof membrane in the country.
Mr Mercer said: “It was a bit a like Steptoe and Son in the early days as we went out collecting cardboard.
“We all had different ideas and the company was being pulled four different ways.
“We are delighted to have won this contract with Buildbase, which is widely regarded as one of the fastest-growing builders’ merchants in the UK.
“We are hopeful the contract to supply them with our highly acclaimed Toughsheet Enviro Membrane will be the start of a long-term relationship.
“Like all businesses, the recession has provided us with challenges over the past couple of years, but we are now emerging stronger than ever.”
The contract will help create six new jobs at the Westhoughton site, taking the total number of employees to 60.
Now he is looking to expand further by building a factory next door to the current site to open a recycling facility for harder plastics.
That could create an extra 25 jobs.
