Riverside Coatings, the Castleford based professional paint powder coating business, has secured more than £18,000 thanks to the AD:VENTURE start-up and growth grants, which provides businesses with the opportunity to reach their potential within the first three years of trading.
Having launched the business in April 2017, Managing Director of Riverside Coatings, James Wilson, quickly realised that he would need to invest significantly in machinery with orders coming in for larger pieces of steel and architectural frameworks to be coated.
With no previous experience of running a business, James turned to AD:VENTURE for support and guidance. A dedicated Business Advisor was on hand to provide him with the insight that he needed and to help to put together a detailed plan and necessary budget forecasts.
As well as having someone to sit down and go through the business plan with him, James also applied for a grant for £18,523.39 that would allow him to invest in an auto-wash, a large piece of machinery that would allow him to take on larger commissions.
Further contributions were also made towards maintaining and repairing older machinery including a compressor and spray equipment that he knew would be vital to his future success.
In addition to delivering a professional service, the business can now take on larger pieces of work; plans which wouldn’t have come to fruition this soon had it not been for AD:VENTURE support. As a result, the company now employs a team of four operatives to support in the workshop.
James comments: “When you start a business you don’t always have the time to sit down and go through your plans in any great detail and putting pen to paper can be a struggle – you simply feel you have bigger priorities, like getting the work through the door. Looking back, if I hadn’t have gone through this process with AD:VENTURE, there’s no way I could have invested in the industrial sized machinery I needed.
“Having the funds to purchase the auto-wash was a real game-changer for us. It meant that we could take on larger commissions and really establish the business by delivering the professional service we are now known for. As a result, we are working with huge steel structures and I now have a team in the workshop to help me.”
Riverside Coatings is looking to extend its services further with more demanding work. As a result, the company is considering making additional appointments to the team.
The Leader of Wakefield Council, Cllr Peter Box CBE, said: “It is great to see a local business grow and develop, and this shows just how useful support and funding from the AD:VENTURE programme can be, and the real benefits it can bring to our local economy.”
