The growth in off-shore wind farms has helped environmental consultancy APEM achieve rapid growth in the last year.
The Stockport-based company’s turnover jumped 48 per cent to £4.3m last year and it is set to repeat the feat with revenues of £6.1m this year.
The success has seen the company open two new offices in Edinburgh and Cardiff in the last 12 months and win an additional £100,000 of laboratory work from overseas, including Hawaii, Germany and The Gulf. This success is a result of long-term planning by the company, set up by biologist Dr Keith Hendry, which decided to target the aerial survey and environmental laboratory markets.
Dr Hendry said: “A lot of what we do is driven by long term trends and we could see biological analysis was moving from public to private and there was increased demand for off shore wind farms. We looked at the regulatory framework 10 to 12 years ago and decided on the areas where we wanted to be major players.” APEM’s first major project was Salford Quays in 1987, where it removed thousands of infected fish from the eco system, helping make the waterfront a more attractive proposition for developers.
It was also instrumental in helping the Mersey Bridge at Runcorn achieve planning permission after conducting pollution and habitat tests. The main growth area, however, has been from aerial surveys, which it has performed to help in the positioning of off shore wind farms – ensuring they do not disrupt the flight paths of migratory birds.
The company, which employs 90 staff, is also developing further growth areas within the UK, where it now has five offices, and is looking to export its expertise.
Dr Hendry added: “We are also looking at international wind farm developments as we have now got a lot of experience and we are looking to export our skills.”
The awards take place at Lancashire County Club’s the Point venue on November 17.
They are sponsored by accountancy firm PwC, law firm Pinsent Masons and The Co-operative Bank.
By Paul Maher ( menmedia )
[mappress]
Source: menmedia, October 04, 2011