South Wales Contractors Ltd (Bridgend)

Based in Bridgend, South Wales Contractors is engaged in construction and civil engineering. Most of its projects are undertaken within the South Wales area and one of its key clients in recent years has been Bridgend County Borough Council. Currently employing five people within the company, the business also takes on local subcontractors in a range of areas. The main type of work it currently undertakes is refurbishment, maintenance and repairs.

Origins

South Wales Contractors was founded by John Reape in 2002 after he had previously worked for his father, who also had his own civil engineering company. John had gained considerable experience in the industry and wanted to set up on his own. In terms of the main challenges faced in starting the business, finding clients was the main problem. The business worked hard to establish itself in the local area and grew from there. Another challenge was finding people who could be relied on to work on contracts. It also received little financial support to start off with from any bank and had to grow the business incrementally based on its own retained earnings.

Success factors

As a small construction business, South Wales Contractors has been grown in recent years by being flexible and reliable. The motto of the company is to give people what they want, when they want it, straight away. This has enabled the company to grow substantially over the last few years.

The future?

In the immediate future, the growth opportunities for the company remain in South Wales and they are currently not looking to expand outside of the region. Growing too big is not an aim for the founder, John Reape, who wants to keep the business small and flexible so it can respond to the needs of its customers.

Sector: Building contractor

Established: 2002

Growth: 202.7%