A rapidly-growing electric vehicle charging installer based in Stratford is hoping to double its turnover in the next six months and hire new staff after earning major external investment.
FusionTek was created when civil engineer Ben Windsor began installing EV charging at various construction sites with his previous company LBW Building Services, and decided to specialise in the service.
After growing quickly and joining regional networking group Coventry and Warwickshire Champions, Ben was introduced to the University of Warwick Science Park’s free business support service Business Ready, which is funded through the UK Shared Prosperity Fund and Warwickshire County Council.
He met with business support adviser at Business Ready Mark Wisniewski, who helped the company take a more strategic approach to winning new customers and ensuring they were getting the most value for money.
This led to a pension fund investing significant capital into the business, enabling FusionTek to win more work from local authorities and ramping up turnover.
Ben said: “I realised that installing EV charging was something I quite enjoyed, and that there wasn’t too much expertise in the field which meant that it had a lot of potential.
“But in the early days, we were focusing on all sorts of clients, whether it was public sector, private sector, or private buyers installing chargers at home. It was a bit of a scattergun approach.
“It certainly worked for a while, but we hit a point where this approach wasn’t sustainable any more, and we were just too stretched.
“After I joined CW Champions and mentioned the issues I was having, advisors from the Growth Hub pointed me in the direction of Business Ready, which was a brilliant development for us.
“Mark’s guidance allowed us to take a step back and properly analyse our business and what was making us money versus how long it took to complete a job.
“We realised that things like home-installations were not something we ought to be pursuing proactively, and that bigger installs at commercial premises or public car parks were better options to seek out.
“When we received backing from the pension fund, it was absolutely massive for us. We’re set to double our turnover in six months, and we want to take on young engineers on placement to help grow our company and deliver new work for clients.
“Ultimately, we’re still a young business, and while we started off well, the advice we received from Mark at Business Ready was invaluable.”
Mark added: “FusionTek had everything it needed to succeed, but it’s fair to say that Ben and the team were in danger of being overwhelmed with new enquiries and potential leads.
“We were able to take them through their markets and customers and help them cut through the noise to break things down strategically.
“Many start-up companies do not have the time to do this, and it can be absolutely vital to enable a young business to take that next step in their growth.”
Councillor Martin Watson, portfolio holder for Economy at Warwickshire County Council, said: “The Business Ready programme provides tailored support for many small business across Warwickshire and we’re proud to continue to support the programme and help our local businesses grow and develop.
“Business Ready was able to provide tailored advice to FusionTek, including valuable support to create a strategic marketing plan and ultimately increase their turnover and now look to build their workforce.”
Cllr George Cowcher, Planning and Economy Development Portfolio at Stratford-on-Avon District Council, said: “It’s good to see such an up-and-coming company doing much needed work based in Stratford. The need for more EV facilities will continue to grow and it is great to see a local company satisfying this.”
Business Ready forms part of the Business Growth Warwickshire programme. It is delivered by University of Warwick Science Park on behalf of Warwickshire County Council and Warwickshire’s five District and Borough Councils. The support is part funded by the UK Government through the UK Shared Prosperity Fund (via the District and Borough Councils), and Warwickshire County Council.
Find out what other support is available to your business by calling Coventry and Warwickshire Growth Hub on 0300 060 3747 or visit the Coventry and Warwickshire Growth Hub website.