
35SPEED SCREED |
BEST PRACTICE REPRESENTATIVE 2018
fabricate, lie and cheat their customers,
and, though it isn’t necessarily
widespread, it is very muchthere.
We try to inform everyone we work
for and work with about our attitude
towards standards. It’s a battle – we
fight day in, day out to ensure that
people recognise and work to them.
People often say “that’s fine” or “it’ll
do”, but for us, it’s about far more than
that. We are accredited to ISO 9001
and ISO 14001 alongside, importantly,
BS 8204, the British standard for our
industry. If we surpass them, excellent,
but they really indicate the absolute
minimum we should be delivering on
every project. I’m confident that no other
screeding company is accredited to the
same level that we are, and that nobody
else in the industry operates like we do.
From humble beginnings
From the very start in 2006, we grew
year on year all the way through to
2015, where we turned over £1.6
million. Our market is undoubtedly a
small and niche one, and finding the
right people, the right contractors and
the right training is a tough balance. The
industry offers no formal training for
what we do – the closest thing you can
get is a two-day NVQ in plastering, so,
really, the best education is experience.
There’s a distinct shortage, so we have
to be incredibly careful with the people
we either employ or work with.
Using a slightly different array of
contractors and working alongside
new partners has allowed us to take
on more work, and start getting back
to where we were a few years ago.
With a recent period of reinvestment,
we are confident we’ll stay sustainable
and keep growing organically.
Staying relevant
Repeat business has always helped
with growth – we like to keep in touch
with clients, and get as many formal
reviews as possible on the appropriate
platforms. We do, however, want to
be more than that; we want people
to view Speed Screed as more than a
service provider, and to start educating
people about an industry that’s
relatively unknown. With 20 years’
experience in this incredibly specialised
business, I think I’m one of the most
knowledgeable people around, and
as a result, I have started compiling a
series of educational videos.
These serve not only to answer a
broad swathe of some of the most
common questions we receive on the
job, but also to identify any of the
more specific issues with screed and
the industry as a whole. We have set
a target of just under 500 videos,
and hope this will allow people to
Our head office in Retford
I’m confident
that no other
screeding
company is
accredited to
the same level
that we are, and
that nobody else
in the industry
operates like
wedo
“
“
Portsmouth office
project