The Annan, SW Scotland based, company will report increased turnover by over 15%.
To meet this increased demand the company has continued to recruit, including engineering and trade apprentices; (Read More) there are now 25 apprentices at various stages of their training. This is over 10% of the workforce and it is encouraging that there is enough confidence to continue to recruit and for these youngsters to see a career and a future in this most traditional of industries.
Tom Ritchie, Group Managing Director, said “We are pleased at the progress made in 2013 and the Board is delighted that the business has continued to grow and recruit in a tough market place. Our success in 2013 has been driven by blue chip multinational companies investing in larger scale projects and coming to Cochran for the added value we provide. We are the only UK boilermaker with a complete range of boiler designs and manufacturing capability for single units up to 40 t/h of steam and with our experienced engineering and project management teams we assist our customers in designing and managing their complete installation. They are also comforted by the support they can receive from our 40 directly employed commissioning and service engineers. It is fair to say that conditions at the smaller end of the market have been much tougher with many of our private sector customers lacking the confidence to make major capital investment.”
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To expand it’s presence in the UK heat recovery market Cochran has developed a range of competitive smaller steam and hot water heat recovery boilers. Combined with the UK manufacture and extensive local support this has attracted new customers who were previously buying imported boilers. During 2013 the Cochran hire fleet has also developed standard package heat recovery modules which are rented alongside engines to give customers requiring temporary power solutions the benefits of a CHP solution. The first units are now successfully working out in the field and the company sees a lot of potential for this to develop during 2014.
Historically Cochran has been a significant exporter and 2013 has been no exception with approximately a third of the factory output going overseas, predominantly to Asia and the Middle East. The company has taken significant steps in 2013 to reinforce and develop this situation. In territory regional managers in America and SE Asia have been recruited to supplement the existing Cochran offices in Hong Kong and Shanghai, marketing materials and websites have been launched in Russian, Chinese, Spanish and Portuguese. The Annan factory has also been audited by ASME, the Chinese and Russian authorities during 2013 to renew their manufacturing licences for these markets.
Although the UK SME private sector market for new boilers has been tough, Cochran has seen a spin off benefit in the growth of its repairs and service business. Customers who maybe would have bought a new boiler have opted to get existing plant repaired and upgraded and to ensure performance is optimised by taking out Cochran service and training packages. The number of customers with Cochran service contracts has increased by 10% during the year and the company has responded by recruiting an additional service manager and several new directly employed engineers. As the original equipment manufacturer we can engineer the retrofit equipment to match the boiler with accuracy ensuring minimum risk to future operations.
The Cochran e-commerce business has expanded during the year by signing an agreement with Siemens to be an official “Solution Partner. “ This enables Cochran to supply Siemens building technology products to a network of end users that may not be traditional customers.
The Cochran business has continued to develop during 2013 and with the apparent gradual improvement in the general economy is looking forward to continued growth in 2014.
For further information on how Cochran can provide a solution to your energy needs please visit www.cochran.co.uk or contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
