Norec

Source: Stock Market Digital

Date :10/26/2007 9:24:40 AM

The benefits of succession

Managing Director Greg Kelley tells Exec UK why Norec – one of the largest on-site suppliers – is a market leader in supplying operation and maintenance services to the materials handling industry.

Written by Rebecca Waters & Produced by Kiron Chavda

From its establishment in October 1988, Norec has seen many structural changes. Put simply, the company has ‘literally gone from one site to a number of sites’, as Greg Kelley, Managing Director explains.

Norec Engineering was formed to provide plant design and build, operation and maintenance services mainly to British Coal in the Yorkshire and Derbyshire areas. Greg Kelley joined the company from British Coal itself in 1993, shortly after which the business imploded following the closure of many of British Coal’s sites.

This marked the beginning of Norec’s transitional period, departing from mining based activities with British Coal, to generation based materials handling activities. Essentially this began with minerals reception and unloading, managing stocks and bunker levels, through to handling ash and dust by-products. It also gave Norec the opportunity to re-establish it engineering expertise in plant process design that had been such an integral part of its roots.

Since his appointment in 1993, Kelley has ‘grown up with the business’, initially working on a number of sites and as the generation portfolio increased, to leading and managing a group of sites which has led to his current position as Managing Director.

Group Scale

As Kelley explains, Norec’s acquisition into the Hargeaves Group in 2006 has had a significant impact on the company. “The benefits of belonging to a strategically-placed PLC are the growth model, the investment and the breadth of opportunity.” Kelley admits that with the old business model this would have been difficult.

“When we looked at the opportunities coming out of supporting the acquisition, the synergies within the Hargreaves group gave us increased confidence,” he says. Crucially, the acquisition has given Norec the opportunity to continue its growth. Unlike the sole business before, Norec is now part of a ‘strong model’, therefore widening its capability. The joint capability that comes with belonging to the Hargreaves group allows the company to work alongside the other divisions and to integrate on certain projects. “There is a tremendous synergy within the group,” says Kelley. “We can potentially deliver services from cradle to grave.” The Hargreaves Group now has the opportunity to integrate its divisional capability to provide a comprehensive supply chain of support services to the bulk materials, energy and waste sectors.

Hearts and Minds

As Kelley explains, the company employs 650 people in potentially difficult and challenging environments. As such, health and safety is crucial to Norec and an area in which it has received National and International acclaim, winning numerous British Safety Awards.

“We believe in strong cultural improvement,” explains Kelley, “not just having a documented system.” As well as taking a systems approach, Norec works directly with its employees adopting a ‘hearts and minds’ philosophy. This involves educating the people so that when they are set to work they know how to act safely, having attended different bespoke courses from senior managers on diploma level to specific training courses down the staff organisation.

Key to Norec’s success is the personal relationship with its employees. As Kelley explains, “the product is delivered by our people so really the strength of the product is dependent upon their capability and approach.” As Kelley has, a lot of people have grown up with the business and succeeded within it. Some who joined at site and office level have now progressed to senior management roles, explains Kelley.

Norec currently employs 650 people confirms Kelley, and the company is expanding fast. “In this last two years it grew by 250 people.” As the company grows, it is imperative to adapt the business to meet its expanding number of employees. “One of the biggest challenges,” says Kelley, “is succession. In order to meet the expanding nature of the business Norec is looking to develop people in senior roles. You’ve got to have people coming through the business at all levels to fill the gaps. It’s a nice dynamic of a business that’s already expanding.”

In order to balance this, the company has its own personal development schemes as wells as working confidently with NVQ in order to provide its employees not only with the experience in other areas but also to realise their own ambitions. “It is our people that deliver the business,” says Kelley, “they are our main asset.”

Flexible and Innovative

Norec maintains its relationships with its clientele as much as it does with its employees. “We offer a relationship approach more than a contractual one.” And this shows; not only does Norec have a prestigious clientele including British Energy, Eon-UK plc, ScottishPower Generation UK Ltd, RWE Energy, International Power and Scottish & Southern Electric, but most of its contracts are five years and longer.

In order to maintain its credibility in the market, Norec has to be “flexible and innovative”. Kelley says in order to cope with the changes in the market, particularly with the environment, “our clients will still be generating electricity in 20 years time but probably in different ways, so we have to be part of their strategies.”

Equally, Kelley says that whilst Norec continues to work with its existing portfolio, it is always looking to expand, and look for opportunities within its niche. Currently, the company is looking at some of the emerging technologies, including renewables such as, bio-fuels, wind-farms and waste-to-energy. This works in line with the new business plan that Norec is developing in order to continue its established O&M business while also looking for opportunities within these emerging markets. This will involve Norec’s creation of two discreet business arms; renewable and engineering and facilities management. FM is an area which Norec is quietly confident about, having just won its first contract within this market.

With the new business development model, Norec is very optimistic about both the company’s own future as well as the future of the Plc. One of the most important challenges, says Kelley “is to continue to expand the business and attract the right people into it.