Lancashire Telegraph Business Awards: Small Business (From Lancashire Telegraph)

Lancashire Telegraph Business Awards: Small Business

11:29am Monday 17th November 2008

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THEY may have been the smallest business present, but Mitchell’s Scaffolding staff made the most noise when it was announced it had won.

The eight-strong team of the Accrington-based company took to the stage with whoops of joy as they collected the award for best small business.

Director Stuart Mitchell, 26, has built the business up over the past six years.

It now has a turnover of £154,505 a year and has established a reputation as a trusted firm that dismantles and erects scaffolding across the north west of England and beyond.

Collecting his award Mr Mitchell said: “This is absolutely amazing.

“I was just 19 when I decided to set up, an age where most young people are just happy to be told what to do by others.

“I just wanted to make more money and I knew the best way to do that was by being my own boss.”

Mr Mitchell originally started the company with his father Gordon, who soon took on a back seat role.

He now runs the business with his partner Sharon Turner, whose mother and brother also work for the company.

Mr Mitchell Snr said: “We got up early, we grafted hard and we got the job done.

“Stuart and Sharon are really driven. They celebrate their successes but they also deal with their disappointments.”

Mitchell’s Scaffolding is a tight-knit unit, strengthened by Mr Mitchell’s drive to put his young employees through their qualifications.

For the first time the firm is putting a young employee through an apprenticeship and as a result has recently gained Investors in People status.

It also boasts a 100 per cent safety record. And it was these aspects which helped put the firm ahead of the other nominees in the judges’ eyes.

Miss Turner now hopes to move the company forward with the creation of a website before the end of the year.

Mitchell’s Scaffolding also hopes to obtain a licence to work with asbestos, boosting the business even further.

Mr Mitchell said: “As we are a small unit we can focus on building commitment and loyalty amongst our staff, so we are able to pass on a high quality service to our customers.

“Winning this award is testimony to that.”

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