Key Waste Management has expanded its vehicle fleet and is set to increase turnover

A Northumberland waste management firm has expanded its vehicle fleet and is on target for a 10 per cent increase in turnover this year after securing a £47,000 funding package from Bank of Scotland.

Key Waste Management, which is based in Amble, provides commercial waste disposal services for clients across the region and also in the Borders area of Scotland. It works directly with businesses and carries out sub-contracting services for Biffa and SITA.

The company has also recently moved into the recycling sector, collecting and processing glass and cardboard waste for its clients.

It has seen an increase in demand for its services throughout 2010, and has recruited an average of two new customers a week of varying size throughout the year, ranging from commercial to industrial clients.

The firm, which was founded in 1998, currently employs nine people but will look to add another three by Easter 2011.

The company, which previously operated its vehicles on a contract hire basis, has expanded its fleet with the purchase of two new vehicles, using a £47,000 hire purchase package from Bank of Scotland. This saves the firm a considerable amount on the previous leasing costs. It is now set to add another two vehicles to its eight-strong fleet in the next two months.

Plans are also in place for 2011 to purchase recycling machinery and process the waste in-house, rather than taking this to a third-party facility.

The company also uses factoring facilities worth £125,000 from Lloyds TSB Commercial Finance, part of the wider Lloyds Banking Group. This allows the firm to take advantage of new opportunities by bridging the gap between carrying out services and receiving payments from clients.

Key Waste Management is now on target to generate turnover of £652,000 for 2010, a 10 per cent increase on 2009 figures.

Kate Lynn, co-director of Key Waste Management, said: “We have seen an increase in demand for our services this year, particularly in the recycling sector, and this necessitated an increase in vehicle fleet size and employee numbers.

“Purchasing vehicles rather than leasing them provides a huge cost saving for the company, and provides a great platform for the growth of the firm in 2011.

“The support from Bank of Scotland has been invaluable in facilitating this growth, and we enjoy a trusting and supportive partnership with our relationship manager.”

Donald Lee, relationship manager for Bank of Scotland, said: “By putting in place a defined strategy and diversifying into new services, Key Waste Management has shown it is possible to grow at any stage of the economic cycle.

“This has allowed the firm to put exciting expansion plans in place for the next year.

“Solid business planning from Kate and the team meant that we could immediately see the benefit of the vehicle purchase to the company and we were able to put the funding package in place.”

Suzy Chung, regional manager at Lloyds TSB Commercial Finance, said: “An important factor of Key Waste Management’s expansion has been their ability to manage cash flow successfully. Factoring is an ideal solution to help achieve this and will enable the firm to grow even further going forward.”

October 2010