Interiors firm follows NEC contract with growth plans

LEEDS company Ryedale has recently completed a £225,000 contract at Birmingham’s National Exhibition Centre.

The company manufactures and supplies fibrous plasterwork, glass reinforced gypsum and metal column casings for the construction industry.

It has worked on builds such as The Light, Selfridges headquarters in Leicester, an Everyman Cinema Bristol, Cineworld Sheffield, Beaverbrooks head offices, and Leeds’ own Central Square.

At a 7,000 sq ft factory in Leeds the Ryedale team of 10 (with 10 employed indirectly) manufactures plasterwork and other specialised interiors products.

Roger Hannon, managing director of the business has a long history with specialised suppliers.

He started out at a firm fitting suspended ceilings, then specialising in glass reinforced gypsum. He set up a GRG division within major contractors Johnson Bros, before joining Ryedale in 1998.

Mr Hannon bought out the founder and part owner David Brook when he retired in 2014, and now has big plans to grow the £1m-turnover company.

Mr Hannon said: “During the recession we downscaled a lot, keeping out direct employees. We have a lot of very good clients that kept us going in the bad years.

“But now it’s definitely picking up – there’s a lot more work around now, though that does mean a lot of competitors that went bust and are coming back now!

Mr Hannon said: “We quote projects up and down the country, everything from shop fitting to office blocks, from Inverness to Brighton.

“The NEC job was really impressive visually, and we’re up for a Finishes and Interiors Sector award.”

Ryedale has won at the FIS awards at The Dorchester in London twice, in 2006 and 2010.

Recently contract manager Stuart Grubb has been appointed to help Mr Hannon with Ryedale’s growth plans.

The company is aiming to grow turnover to £1.5m in the next couple of years, and as Mr Hannon said: “The bigger we get, the more we can employ.”