New jobs boost in Longridge firm's expansion (From Preston and Leyland Citizen)

New jobs boost in Longridge firm's expansion

9:40am Sunday 7th February 2010

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More stories about: OBAS

A COMPANY bought out of administration less than two years ago is set to create dozens of new jobs in 2010.

Norman Tenray, managing director at OBAS, took over four collapsed companies – Express Plumbing and Safety Supplies, HWA UK Ltd, Impact Decor and Design Ltd and Slater Development – in 2008.

He later merged them into one slimmed-down construction supplies business.

Since then, the Longridge-based firm has undergone a 'culture change' and Mr Tenray plans to float it onto the stock market in the next few years.

The former Southampton-based computer engineer was approached to buy the ailing companies in 2008 as his wife Michelle knew the former bosses.

After the pair seized control and took the firms out of administration, a focus on staff had helped turn things around at the newly-formed OBAS, based on the Chapel Hill Industrial Estate.

He said: “My background is in IT so I have had to work my socks off here but I made sure I took time to understand the staff.

“The staff had to believe in the vision we had and feel confident in what we were doing.

“It has now got to the point where, during the cold snap, staff were ringing from home asking if someone could pick them up because they were desperate to get into work.”

Mr Tenray talks of a 'culture change' within OBAS, which includes a new commitment to training and even showing MTV in the sales office to boost staff morale.

A renewed emphasis on sales has also seen turnover rise from £2million last year to a projected £3million in 2010.

The firm sells 17,000 products ranging from workwear to construction supplies, and has 46 staff compared to 32 in 2008.

Mr Tenray is currently hiring 16 new employees and hopes to create more jobs later this year.

And he believes that if growth continues, OBAS could be floated on to the stock market in three to five years as a £10million business.

He said: “I want the staff to grow the business and then hopefully we can float it. Out of a big disaster we can make a big success.

“I have still got my life down in Southampton but this really motivates me and that is all credit to our staff.”

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