Firm’s staff fired up to celebrate anniversary
A MAESTEG business has become one of the town’s biggest success stories since opening 25 years ago.
When Siderise first opened on Forge Industrial Estate on June 1, 1991, it only employed six people.
Since then, it has grown into a worldwide business employing 40 people.
The chief executive officer of the company, Antony James, has worked at Siderise since day one.
He said: “We are very happy to have succeeded in increasing employment in the locality. We have an ongoing investment programme for our Maesteg site, which hopefully will benefit the community.
“I started here as the Maesteg plant operations manager and for the first 20 years, no one knew who Siderise were. Now we have suppliers and potential employees knocking on our door all the time.”
The company supplies firestop solutions for the curtain wall industry. They sell to the UK, Europe, Saudi Arabia, Malaysia, America, India and the United Arab Emirates.
Mr James said: “We are also the UK’s number one supplier of fire barriers to the facade industry. Many of our products are world leading.”
Over the years, Siderise has developed new products at their Maesteg branch, including a range of specialised fire protection products.
Mr James believes the employees are the reason for the company’s success.
“I am extremely proud of what we have achieved in Maesteg. Our success is all down to the hard work and skill of our workforce.
“We felt we should celebrate the occasion in Maesteg because when we first opened, nobody would have thought that Siderise would, after 25 years, be one of the most successful businesses in the area. We have ambitious plans for the future and I see no reason why we should not, with our valued workforce, achieve these,” he said.
The company was established in Surrey in 1972 as a distributor of acoustic materials.
Its first manufacturing facility was opened in Hadleigh seven years later.
The Maesteg branch was opened in 1991 because the firm wanted to be closer to its local supplier.
Danielle Green, 29, from Maesteg, a logistics manager at Siderise, said: “I enjoy working here, both alone and as part of a team, especially as the employees in the company are very approachable and very helpful to other colleagues.
“Around 98% of the staff here at the Maesteg office are local residents. This is a good thing for the local community as living in a small valley there is not much opportunity for work locally.
“For this 25th anniversary, I will be a team player and help my employees to celebrate with plenty of champagne hopefully!”