Actavo: A Customer-Centric Approach to Diverse Engineering Solutions

Award-winning safety

Actavo has many years of experience in providing a diverse range of services to customers across the UK and abroad. It does so with a customer and safety focus, while always looking to future opportunities

Having undergone a comprehensive rebranding of the company in 2015, Actavo is, today, a leading international engineering solutions company. The company’s extensive range of services span three divisions – Actavo | Industrial; Actavo | Structural; and Actavo | Network & In-Home.

Actavo | Industrial Solutions is a leading supplier of multi-discipline industrial solutions that include access solutions, insulation, asbestos removal, power transmission and distribution services, protective coatings, passive fire protection and rope access. These services are provided to a range of industries including the petro-chemical, power generation, nuclear power, offshore, civil engineering and building sectors. The Actavo | Industrial team is based in the UK, Ireland and Kazakhstan, and has the vast knowledge and technical expertise required to support clients such as Ineos, Magnox Limited, Centrica, Babcock International, Pfizer, National Grid and SSE, among many others.

Actavo | Structural Division comprises Hire & Sales, Building and Events solutions, and, like Actavo | Industrial Solutions, has an established and continually growing presence across the UK, Ireland and internationally. Actavo | Hire & Sales provides a wide range of specialised building equipment such as scaffolding, light access, temporary roofing and fencing, for hire and sale online and through a 35-branch network across the UK and Ireland. Actavo | Buildings designs and manufactures quality buildings using innovative construction techniques to reduce overall construction programmes and time onsite without compromising on design or quality. This team manages projects from initial planning, design and manufacture through to completion, with particular expertise in the healthcare, education, corporate, rail and defence sectors. Actavo | Events provides premier event services such as staging, crowd-control solutions, bespoke structures, grandstand seating, drape systems and temporary structures. The Events team provide a turnkey service – from design and project management through to full installation – on a wide range of events, including Glastonbury and British Summer Time (England); T In The Park (Scotland); Primavera (Spain); Dublin’s St Patrick’s Day Festival (Ireland) and Web Summit 2016 (Portugal).

Actavo’s wide range of services is continually improved to better serve its customers, an example of this being Actavo Direct (www.actavodirect.com), an online ordering facility. This service offers its customers convenience, increased efficiency, and a saving in terms of time and money. Most recently, Actavo Direct has introduced 48-hour delivery, recognising the importance of prompt service in the high-pressure sectors in which customers are working.

Actavo’s technological prowess is further evidenced by its recently signed five-year partnership with ScottishPower to install 780,000 smart meters to homes across Glasgow, Edinburgh and Fife. This contract, which represents the majority of the Government’s smart metering programme for Scotland, has seen Actavo | Network & In-Home Division create 230 jobs in Glasgow.

Actavo’s growth is largely attributable to its customer-focused, performance-driven approach to all parts of its business. According to Chris Foulkes, CEO of Actavo | Industrial Division: “Our growth has been delivered from both new project wins, new maintenance contracts and through the growth of our existing contracts, where we have seen a continuing trend for our clients and understanding their targets, needs and issues. Only when we have really listened and understood these do we make a proposal – not simply offering a standard ‘one size fits all’ response, but with a view to taking on board a client’s perspective and issues, and delivering answers that truly meet their needs.”

Commenting on Actavo’s customer-centric ethos, CEO of Actavo | Structural Division, Roger Hastie, added: “Firstly, we strive to stay close to our customers and continually look to learn from them as to how we can provide the best service. Secondly, we are always looking at ways of diversifying as a business – new products, new services, new branches, and new methods of trading, and new targets. Last, but by no means least, our entire approach across Actavo is characterised by a culture of safety – safety has been, and will always be, our number one priority.”

The company’s focus on safety has been exemplified by a record of 12 consecutive Royal Society of Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA) Gold awards, culminating in the RoSPA President’s award. Highlighting the significance of this award, Chris Foulkes said: “The receipt of RoSPA’s President’s award demonstrates Actavo’s continued commitment to sustaining the highest possible levels of safety at all times.” Roger Hastie elaborated further: “Keeping our team and the public safe will always be our top priority. As part of our commitment to deliver world-class services, all our team members receive meticulous health and safety training – both theoretical and practical. Our entire company is focused on zero harm.”

Actavo’s industry awards, projects and continued growth (including an increase in its international workforce of over 2000 in the last 16 months) all demonstrate the winning spirit that the company strives to instill in everything it does. Looking to future plans and expectations, Chris Foulkes believes that: “Nuclear new builds, marine works, power transmission and maintenance and outage work in the oil and gas sector will be the staples of our business over the next three to five years, with overseas growth a certainty. We plan to continue to grow at a rate that significantly out-performs the market. Continuous improvement – through the use of technology that supports our business – will be a key feature in delivering this growth, as well as investment in our people and a strong focus on diversity.”

Concluding, Roger Hastie says: “In November 2016, the Actavo brand turned one year old. So, in terms of our new corporate identity, the journey has really only begun, in many ways. Over the next 12 months, we will continue to generate domestic and international recognition of Actavo, and its strength and depth of services and expertise we can provide. The company has traded strongly in 2016, and we are confident that 2017 will represent another year of successful development across all our businesses. We are focused on building excellence and capability in our senior management team, while helping our clients by bringing innovative technology solutions that drive operational efficiency and quality.”

Actavo
Services: Main services range from network, in-home and industrial solutions to hire and sales, building and event services