Confidence is high at contracting, manufacturing and shopfitting company PEC, whose managing director feels that 2014 could be a bumper year for the business.

Sohan Panesar said PEC is in good shape with a steady rise in interest from both national and international customers across its divisions.

Sohan, who has been at the day-to-day helm of PEC – which operates from a purpose-built base on Bradford’s Euroway trading estate – for two years, said it continues to benefit from recommendations and repeat business from satisfied customers.

Since his father, Balbir, the company’s founder – and one of Bradford’s most recognisable business figures – became chairman, Sohan has been in the hot seat, a role he describes as challenging, interesting and enjoyable.

He believes PEC will maintain the growth it has achieved in the past two years which saw turnover rise by £4 million to £12 million and an additional ten people recruited, taking the workforce to more than 100.

“We’ve seen substantial growth in business and will look to gradually increase that further in the next few years.

“Whereas we used to have a quiet period pre-Christmas and this time of year, that’s changed and I think it’s a new trend. We’ve had one of our busiest periods for enquiries and tendering opportunities and people are looking for quick starts to projects as they feel more confident.

“Because we work across sectors, including retail, commercial, healthcare, residential and both the private and public sectors, we are able to maintain workflows.

“If one area is quiet another is busy and that helps us maintain performance, although margins have been tightly squeezed and I can’t see them getting back to pre-recession levels,” said Sohan.

Gaining the ISO9001:2008 international accreditation for its quality management systems across its operations has also boosted PEC’s potential. Sohan said: “It means a great deal to the whole team that we have achieved this highly-regarded international quality standard, which reflects the hard work and professionalism of everyone from our electricians, plumbers and decorators to the project managers and office staff.”

The hope is that gaining the quality mark, after 18 months of preparation and assessment, will open up new business opportunities, particularly with bigger blue chip and global clients.

Having an office in London’s Mayfair since 2012 has also opened doors, resulting in PEC’s current UK work being mainly in London and the M25 corridor.

Unlike many competitors that use contract labour, PEC sends its own tradespeople from Bradford to work on jobs – something that Sohan believes clients appreciate.

“The Mayfair office is a good address to have and has been a huge success in raising awareness about the company in the capital and creating opportunities for new work both in the South of England and overseas,” said Sohan.

Internationally, PEC’s manufacturing division – which operates both as a supplier to the shopfitting and contracting operations as well as working for external clients – has completed its first bespoke US order for a wine cellar business.

A Moscow retailer has invited PEC to tender for a job and the firm has also continued working in France for Hygena Kitchens. Hopes are also high for more work for electronics giant Sony, for which PEC worked in Barcelona and Sweden in 2012.

On the contracting front, PEC has completed a refurbishment for Bathstore in Chelsea and is working on a £1.85 million Bubba Gump restaurant contract at the former Planet Hollywood venue at London’s Trocadero, which involves clearing, refurbishing and fitting out the 12,000 sq ft first-floor restaurant and 1,200 sq ft ground-floor shop at the entertainment complex.

Sohan expects work on the retail and leisure side to continue growing, with opportunities for repeat business as leading retailers change floor plans and decor to attract customers.

He hopes that being added to the tender list for budget supermarket chain Lidl will pay dividends as the retailer has big expansion plans in the UK as it grows market share.

PEC has also converted six out of ten former bargain stores into Kiddicare outlets after that business was acquired by Bradford-based Morrisons.

The company has signed up retail group Arcadia, and Sohan hopes this will provide a strong work stream through its Top Shop, Top Man and Miss Selfridge stores. Its long-standing relationship with Homebase and health group Bupa care homes also continues.

“Work is growing in all areas. If we build up contracting that will benefit the manufacturing side. That division has even seen us producing things for competitors because they know we won’t try and muscle in on their contracting work,” said Sohan.

PEC came through the recession in a strong position and Sohan believes a key reason was that the marketing spend was maintained.

He said: “When times are tough many companies cut their marketing budgets first. We took the opposite view and maintained our spending and efforts to promote the business and raise our profile and that’s proved to be the correct strategy and is paying dividends now.”

The surge in work in the South of England means that PEC has had to rescheduled its health and safety and technical training programme – normally carried out in the traditionally quiet first quarter – as staff were away from Bradford.

But the company remains committed to maintaining the skills of its tradesmen and to its apprenticeship programme.

Sohan is proud that PEC has a small staff turnover rate. It has succeeded in retaining most of its apprentices once qualified and the board of directors comprises executives with service at PEC ranging from ten to 27 years.

Sohan is hoping the Westfield development will produce new work, either for the developer itself or retail tenants in Bradford’s new shopping mall, now under construction. He attended a ‘meet the buyer’ event for potential local suppliers and two days later Westfield approached PEC to carry out work – not in Bradford but at its expanding White City retail mall in London.

This week, Sohan and Balbir Panesar will travel to London to face the judges of the Construction News awards in which PEC is a finalist in the finishing and fit-out category.

“The awards are highly regarded in the industry and to be a finalist is great in itself. If we win it would be superb, but reaching the shortlist is fantastic recognition for the business,” said Sohan.