Historic steel business re-opens after flood devastation
A FOURTH-generation West Yorkshire steel stockholder is back on track after being badly affected in December’s floods.
Pulman Steel is one of the largest steel stockholders in the North of England and has been trading in the Sowerby Bridge area since 1830.
The company supplies a range of steel to engineering companies, fabricators, local authorities and the building industry, and also offers sawing and profiling services.
On Boxing Day, it became one of the many Yorkshire businesses to be affected by the catastrophic floods that hit the area.
The floods destroyed 60% of the business’ fleet of delivery wagons as well as all of the firm’s machinery, IT systems, and half of its office space. Eighty per cent of the business’ stock was also written off.
Over the past seven months, with the support of the local community, the business has cleaned and recovered its premises.
The company’s long-standing banking partner, Lloyds Bank Commercial Banking, provided a £1.1m asset finance facility to enable the business to repurchase the twelve items of machinery it lost in the floods. Since the investment the business has reinstated 75% of its original turnover.
David Shoesmith, managing director at Pulman Steel, said: “The impact of the floods was truly devastating but with the support of the community, our loyal customers and Lloyds Bank, we’ve been able to get the business back up and running. It’s taken a lot of hard work to get to the position we’re in today, and we’re proud of the progress we’ve made and looking forward to getting back to business as usual.”
Matthew Canning, relationship director at Lloyds Bank Commercial Banking, said: “As one of the oldest businesses in the area, Pulman Steel has brought employment and prosperity to the local community for almost 200 years. Lloyds Bank has also provided banking support to the business since they started trading. With its doors now reopen for business, I look forward to seeing the company thrive and grow over the coming years.”
