Future Industrial Services has been providing waste-management and industrial services to the public and private sector since it began operations nearly 20 years ago and continues to expand. Daniel Moore reports.
In 1999, Future Industrial Services commissioned its first premises on the Knowsley Industrial Park in Kirkby, Liverpool, which has grown to cover a 5-acre site, still serving as the headquarters of the business.
As it stands, Future’s portfolio consists of 13 sites and 380 employees, with all growth coming through a number of company-led acquisitions together with organic expansion.
A recent “major milestone” in terms of Future’s growth was the acquisition of Colt Industrial Services from Augean PLC in June, involving the transfer of 46 staff over to Future, together with the acquisition of considerable assets including specialist ‘cold-cutting’ equipment. The business has retained the former Colt headquarters at Witty Street in Hull, under a long-term lease from Augean which remains the landlord.
Growth
David Lusher, CEO of Future Industrial Services, explained: “This transaction represents another chapter in the growth of the business, following on from the acquisition of the Bale Group assets in 2016, and the successful MBO from previous parent One51 plc, which was completed in April 2017 with the support of NorthEdge LLP.” Explaining the benefits of the purchase, he noted: “The former Colt business increases the range of services we can offer to our customers, and our regional hub in Hull will offer real operational synergies and efficiencies to the wider business.”
Mr Lusher was appointed as Future’s CEO in 2015, with a strong knowledge and background in the waste sector including from a previous role as a UK board executive director at Veolia.
Tanker facility and a Future Industrial site
At Future, he is responsible for overseeing the business together with acquisitions and processes from start to finish. “I joined Future Industrial Services three years ago and was tasked with delivering and leading acquisitions to bring scale to the business, and to position Future as a national service provider to industrial customers,” he said, highlighting that the group has reported a “very successful integration” with its acquisition of Colt Industrial.
The purchase of Colt Industrial Services has also coincided with the opening of Future depots in Middlesbrough and Pontefract earlier this year; allowing Future to support its work force, service capabilities and client base across Yorkshire and the North East of England.
Regions
A total of five general managers are employed across Future Industrial’s network, and all have strong experience within the waste and industrial services sectors, according to Mr Lusher. “We have the business in five GM regions: we have the North East – with our main site at Berwick Upon Tweed; the Yorkshire region – with the main facility in Hull; and the North West – with the principle site in Kirkby. In addition, we serve the Midlands, which includes South Wales, having depots in Newport and Rugby; together with a Southern region headquartered at Honiton but with depots at Plymouth, Portsmouth, and Wareham.”
Fleet and Services
The company maintains three distinct service lines, namely, ‘Hazardous Waste’, ‘Specialist Recovery’ and ‘Industrial Services’.
One of the main service lines of the company, Mr Lusher notes, is Industrial Services, which includes specialist cleaning, decontamination, dry vacuumation, and tankering services. More specialist Industrial Services work regularly undertaken by Future includes reservoir roof repairs, wet well maintenance, ERF shut-downs, digestor cleaning, and cold cutting.
Another crucial service line of the business is dealing with hazardous waste, which is collected, treated, recovered and transported safely and securely from chemical, manufacturing and industrial plants. As with its other service offerings, these procedures are facilitated through an extensive vehicle fleet, designed to remove hazardous sludges, liquids and solids “efficiently” while “mitigating risk” to public health.
Future Industrial Services currently owns 55 tractor units, 20 ‘Disab’ units, 70 tankers, 8 filter presses, and 25 rigid units. The business also owns and operates a boat which provides essential waste management services at Devonport, Plymouth.
The main hazardous waste treatment and transfer plants are in Plymouth, Honiton, Kirkby and Berwick and these assist Future with its hazardous service operations. This includeswaste classification and packaging to collection, transport and disposal, as well as ensuring that there is compliance with legislation and “best practice.” All operations are supported by best in class laboratories, the company noted.
Vehicle investment
External view of the company’s Kirkby site
Mr Lusher told letsrecycle.com that the company has a £2m vehicle investment programme over the next 6 months: “We will be acquiring an additional 22 tractor units in 2018, together with a number of specialist rigid units to ensure that operational capability keeps pace with customer demand. We will also replace older units to keep our fleet reliable and up-to-date.”
The third major service line of the business is Specialist Recovery. Activities here include the operation of a highly specialist ‘drying plant’ to valorise nickel rich sludges and cakes; recovery of copper products from spent etchant solutions; preparation of pre-process recovered oil; and lagoon management services. Future also owns and operates the largest Mercury Recovery facility in the UK at Berwick-upon-Tweed, and this plant provides an essential service to several important industrial customers.
Next steps
During the second half of 2018, Future will focus on optimising all the recently acquired activities and continue to deliver best in class customer service. “Although we are a smaller company, to work for blue-chip customers as we do, we need to operate like a larger company in terms of QHSE, systems, back-up, planning, and data reporting. Industrial customers need the responsiveness and flexibility offered by a local service provider but cannot compromise on compliance or accept poor standards of service,” Mr Lusher emphasised.
And, he added: “In the next 12 months, we see some very real opportunities for organic expansion into the footprint we’ve created through our recent acquisitions. We will deliver infrastructure improvements on all key facilities, most notably a £3m project in 2019 to extend the current mercury thermal recovery plant at Berwick-upon-Tweed. We will also continue to manage the expanding business, with our total workforce expected to exceed 500 at some point in 2019 net of further acquisitions.”
The post Expansion trail for Future Industrial appeared first on letsrecycle.com.
Source: letsrecycle.com Waste Managment
