Cladspray Solutions Turns 10 in Momentous Year for the Business

This May, Cladspray Solutions celebrates a decade since its inception and the anniversary comes in what looks to be a particularly stand-out year for the business. With two awards already under their belt this year, a place on the Financial Times’ FT1000 list and work underway for their new 11,500sq foot development in Norwich, Cladspray have plenty to celebrate with their valued team and customers. 

Starting from humble origins, as many of the best stories do, the company was started by Managing Director, Tom Carter. Tom had gained the majority of his experience in the domestic sector, but could see the opportunity for offering a cladding respray service for industrial units in the region. Armed with a van and a spraying machine, he undertook the work himself and completed it to Cladspray’s signature high standard. 

The work that Cladspray do is its biggest promotional tool; the result that they achieved, even in Tom’s first project under the brand, became a big talking point on the industrial site it was situated. Cladspray’s reputation soon spread, filling up the fledgling company’s order book. The company take pride in being instructed to work on a formerly tired, dilapidated building and comprehensively restoring it through refurbishment and respraying. The results are cost-effective when compared with redevelopment, efficient – any resident businesses can remain operational – and stunning to see.

Building the Team to Build the Business

The subsequent years saw Cladspray grow in every sense; their service offering expanded to include full renovation for industrial buildings; their team grew in headcount in both the on-the-road and behind-the-scenes teams, and their customer base swelled to take in a much wider footprint, with the company now servicing the whole of the UK.

Cladspray count notable hires in each area of the business as key to their ability to grow. Of course the on-site spraying teams are essential to the service they offer, and prompted them to start their own apprenticeship scheme. The skill level in the current team is unrivalled, and very ably managed, keeping projects on time and within the clients’ budget. 

Aside from the on-site teams, the sales and admin departments have again strengthened the company-at-large, with each individual playing a vital part in its success.  Their growth in business, but also team hasn’t stopped them keeping a lean operation, with efficiencies considered at every part of the chain. This is, in part, thanks to the introduction of director Kim Carter in 2016. As a former marketing account director for well-respected agency Big Dog (now KrowX), Kim’s experience allowed the business to put a spotlight on their processes and structure, with the resulting transformation strengthening the company from within. 

The Pandemic and Beyond

It would be natural to consider 2020 a hiatus for the business, as so many other companies were experiencing, however Cladspray’s existing methods of operation worked well in an environment where social distancing was now paramount. Further to that, the financial uncertainty that every business felt encouraged businesses to look at their existing spaces and adopt an attitude of ‘restore’ rather than ‘relocate’. Even domestically that became the trend, with restoration taking precedence over moving house. 

Ploughing forward consistently, coupled with an increasingly strong reputation, afforded Cladspray some key contracts from household names. Counting McDonalds, IKEA, Tesco, Lotus Cars, Birdseye and more on their client roster, Cladspray were able to achieve the incredible accolade of a place on Financial Times’ FT1000 list in 2022. The list charts the top 1000 fastest growing companies in Europe. As remarkable as that was in its own right, Cladspray repeated the honour in the recent announcement of the FT1000 list for 2023. 

This year could already be considered a strong year after the inclusion on the FT1000 list for a second year running, but Cladspray have started the year strong with the win of two industry awards so far.  The first came from the SME Awards, who named Cladspray the UK’s Best Spray Painting Specialists for 2023. Although the company’s service offering has grown to fully flesh out their renovation capabilities, it felt good to be recognised for the discipline that was at the core of their business for years. Following that award was the nomination and resulting win of the FSB’s Larger Small Business of the Year for the East of England, before being put through to the national finals.

Cladspray in the Community

While all of this has been happening, Cladspray could be forgiven for being ‘all-business’, although that isn’t the case. Their work in supporting community organisations has been consistent and paramount to the company’s vision and values over the last few years. In particular, their ongoing relationship with intergenerational charity, Friend in Deed, has strengthened to include regular donations, corporate sponsorship and a mutually rewarding relationship with the charity’s founder, Kelly Lindsay. The charity tackles loneliness in the elderly, promoting and facilitating sessions between care home residents, predominantly, and children.

Looking to the Future

The rest of the year and beyond looks optimistic, with work just started on their new premises on Mason Road, Norwich. The unit signals a new chapter for the business with room for their blossoming team to grow, and represents the latest in a story of inspiring growth for this former man-and-his-van business.