A leading specialist in bulk materials handling, Hargreaves outlines ambitious growth strategies for 2025
Hargreaves Industrial Services Limited (Hargreaves) is a wholly owned subsidiary of Hargreaves Services plc. The company, previously Norec Limited, was acquired by Hargreaves plc in 2006. Sean Hager, Managing Director, outlines the company’s history: “At that time, we predominantly held long-term service contracts operating and maintaining material handling plants at coal-fired power stations. We handled the coal coming in and the ash out, and later, as flue gas desulphurisation plants were introduced to reduce the carbon dioxide levels from the station’s emissions, we also handled the limestone and gypsum, which were both used in this process.
“As the country’s energy requirements changed and the future of coal-fired generation was finite, we embarked upon an ambitious development strategy to diversify our business into related industrial sectors and introduced larger-scale engineering projects to our service offering. In 2022, we also acquired a water business, which has enabled us to further expand into minor civils and MEICA (Mechanical, Electrical, Instrumentation, Control, and Automation) work in the water industry.
Recent investments
“Our specialism is very much bulk materials handling and the associated equipment, as well as infrastructure such as conveying systems, materials processing, silos and storage, and loading and off-loading solutions. We can build the schemes, and then we can operate and maintain them too, which is something that separates us from our competition.
“Through our water business, we specialise in mechanical, electrical, and minor civils works associated with water infrastructure, for example, new sewage pumping stations, mains laying, rising mains, clean water repairs, sewage repairs, valve installations, hydrant installations, meter installations, and manhole chambers and covers.”
Sean then goes on to highlight some recent investments the company has made and the subsequent emerging benefits: “Hargreaves regularly invests in new plant and equipment used in the delivery of long-term service contracts on behalf of our clients. The type of equipment will vary depending on the scope of works but usually includes ‘yellow plant’ items such as front-end loading shovels, excavators fork-lift trucks, telehandlers, and materials handlers, as well as screens, crushers, and shredders, jetters and tankers used for specific processing purposes.
“Furthermore, new equipment brings with it obvious benefits, as it boasts the latest safety features, is often more environmentally friendly, and offers the best solutions in terms of driver comfort and usability; happy drivers make all the difference!”
Sustainability focus
With several long-term contracts with environmentally conscious clients, sustainability is a priority for Hargreaves. Sean explains how this focus presents itself on job sites: “First and foremost, we make every effort to ensure that nothing we do compromises our clients’ own commitments in these areas. Our business is built entirely on maintaining excellent working relationships with our customers, and we are very aware that we are operating on their premises, so we absolutely cannot put a foot wrong in terms of our environmental responsibilities. 
“We have held certification to BS EN ISO 14001 for many years, which means our environmental management systems are both internally and externally audited against the defined international standard. However, in today’s world, being environmentally aware extends beyond our management systems and has become an integral part of our future development strategy. Hargreaves plc is particularly focused in this area; we have developed a working group made up of representatives from around the group, and we meet regularly to discuss how we can improve our sustainability efforts, not only in a customer-facing way but also from a social value perspective. Last year, we published our carbon net-zero commitment, and we are not taking our foot off the gas when it comes to achieving the goals we have set.”
One of the key factors driving success is Hargreaves’ company culture. Lucie McDermott, Proposals Director, outlines the approach: “As a business built on its people, an inclusive culture is incredibly important to us. We are conscious that without the commitment of our employees, we could not achieve our growth targets or any the exciting things we see in our future.
“We’ve placed increased emphasis on employee health and wellbeing, partnering with Westfield Health to offer health cash plans to all staff, coupled with a comprehensive employee assistance program, accessible by our employees and their families 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year. We actively encourage open communication and will regularly run employee surveys to capture as much direct feedback as possible on areas for improvement.
Moving forward
“One of our greatest strengths is adaptability; in fact, it is one of our core values. This ability to remain constantly agile to the changing requirements of our industry, the commercial challenges, the desire for sustainability, and the dedication to give back to our employees and their communities means we are constantly moving forward. We never sit still on this, and it is this drive and determination that has enabled us to diversify and grow, despite the challenges we have faced.”
Sean then concludes by outlining the company’s ambitions for the year ahead: “Our business growth plan is now in place; we have established clear areas of growth and development, and our plan for 2025 is to get stuck in! The start of a new AMP (asset management period) presents an opportunity for our water business, and we are hopeful that major infrastructure projects such as HS2 and Sizewell C will continue to present opportunities for us both in the engineering and materials handling space.”