A NEWPORT company specialising in engineering solutions to the water and waste industries is continuing to expand.

During the downturn Celtic Process Control maintained its team of 65 staff and even secured more contracts – boosting its turnover by 25% to more than £3m in the past year.

The company provides instrument, electrical and mechanical process control engineering solutions to the water and waste water industries. One of its main customers is the Asset Management Alliance (AMA) of Welsh Water.

Its chief executive, David Morgan, said: “We’ve had a good year, although obviously it has been tough and we’ve had to dig deeper for extra efficiencies to become even more competitive.

“Many of our competitors have struggled to win contracts with diminishing workloads and a downward pressure on margins, but our workload has not reduced as we are able to use workforce innovation and efficiencies to help meet the industry-wide requirements for costs savings.”

Celtic Process Control, established in the 1970s, has invested heavily in training and development over the past decade, which its chief executive said has helped the company succeed through the downturn.

He added: “For me the key thing about Celtic is that it is managed and run by the employees.

“There is a lot of scepticism out there about participatory management systems but this is how we do things and it is helping us to survive the recession.

“All our staff contribute towards improving the way we work. It’s those at the sharp end that see where we can make savings, not people at their desks. Their ideas, a lot of small contributions, have helped us to make huge savings which mean we have become even more competitive. This means we are still winning new contracts.”

Last year the company achieved Leadership and Management status, an Investors in People quality mark.

Mr Morgan said: “The investment in training we have made, supported by the Welsh Assembly Government, has been excellent and has really paid off for us. Working towards the Leadership and Management status totally changed the way we run the company and really improved communication across the teams.

“We’re extremely proud of our workforce and have one of the lowest staff turnover rates within the contracting industry.

“We have a wealth of skills here in our teams and we have started offering new services to our customers, such as project management and turnkey solutions. This has been another important way in which we have maintained our position in the industry.

“I’m confident about the future. Water was one of the last industries to go into recession and I think we will be lagging behind a bit, but ultimately it is essential work which needs to be done.

“Our core focus will continue to remain in Wales, however we are keen to target our neighbouring water companies too. Ultimately we would like a broader spectrum of contracts. We also continue to invest in training our staff as this seeds innovation; it’s not about ticking a box, we must improve the way we do things on an ongoing basis to keep up-to-date and remain competitive.”

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