Building an even higher reputation for excellence
April will see new branding for one of the country’s leading Scaffolding and Fall Prevention Providers. The TRAD Group has specialised in Traditional Contracting, Equipment Hire and Sales, and Specialist Fall Safety Systems for more than 46 years. Now, having become part of the Altrad Group in September 2013, the firm is set to take on a new look thanks largely to investment of £15million.
“Even in the depths of the recession, we remained a very strong business,” says Des Moore, the TRAD Group’s CEO. “With both the Altrad Group’s involvement and substantial investment we’ve become even stronger, and the TRAD Group has doubled in size. The new branding reflects this and the Altrad Group’s presence in the UK market.”
Hertel and Prezioso apart, the more visually recognizable branding will be seen across the whole Altrad Group, as all business entities will be using an identical core logo going forward.
Change can sometimes see companies losing sight of what made them successful in the first place, but this hasn’t been the case with the TRAD Group. The top management team has remained completely intact and the company culture hasn’t changed. “The ideals that exist in the Altrad Group management charter are those at the heart of our values for the last 40-plus years,” added Des.
The Altrad Group itself is an astonishing success story, founded by Mohed Altrad, who was born a poor Syrian Bedouin, and then moved to France at the age of 17. He invested in a bankrupt scaffolding manufacturer in 1985, and went on to develop the Group through acquisitions and organic growth. Now a major player in the construction equipment market and Oil and Gas sectors, with 150 subsidiaries and 22,000 employees worldwide, Altrad has an annual turnover of €2.5 billion. Mohed Altrad was named EY Entrepreneur of the World in 2015, and has written three acclaimed novels including his autobiography Badawi, now on the French National Curriculum. He is also the President of Montpellier Hérault Rugby Club, and the Altrad Group are supporting the French Rugby Association in their bid to host the 2023 World Cup.
The initial scaffolding business, TRAD Southern, undertakes projects of any scale, including some of the most important construction developments in London and the South. It maintains significant stock levels of both System Scaffolding and Traditional Scaffolding in three large storage facilities strategically located around the M25. This enables it to carry out many large-scale projects simultaneously. Last year, the TRAD Group acquired MTD Midlands, a scaffolding contractor working primarily in the social housing sector throughout the Midlands. The business was founded more than 20 years ago and currently trades out of three Depots in Oldbury, Telford and Loughborough. They are looking to move into Commercial, New Build, High-Rise Refurbishment and Public Sectors.
TRAD’s Hire and Sales business is a UK leader in the field, and as well as as complementary services such as design support, it primarily serves several Scaffolding Companies. They are the exclusive UK supplier of Plettac Metrix System Scaffolding, very quick to erect and dismantle. It also offers additional safety features compared to competing systems. The Safety Systems business is market leader in the Design, Manufacture and Supply of Fall Safety Solutions for the Construction, House Building, Roofing and Maintenance Industries.
The TRAD Group itself has staff of more than 1,000 people based in 17 UK locations, with a combined turnover of in excess of £100 million. The aim across the Group gradual organic growth, based on introducing new, class-leading products through the Hire and Safety Businesses. “We then introduce these innovative products across the Scaffolding Businesses so our contracting clients see the benefits of the improvements, and receive the most efficient, safest and professional service possible”, explained Des.
From a personal perspective, Des has recently joined the board of Directors for Build UK – a UK construction organization providing a strong collective voice on key industry issues. He’s also Director of CISRS, the industry recognized Scaffolding Training Scheme. Later on this year, Des will become President of the NASC, a tremendous accolade for both the TRAD and Altrad Group. It’s been attained due to TRAD’s outstanding reputation and experience. This respected position will give both TRAD and Altrad an even bigger presence in the industry. Their growing portfolio of customers will continue to enjoy the same high standards of service they enjoyed across four decades.