Business Matters: Creating mutual success by being adaptable, flexible and innovative

As a commercial property company owning and operating five business parks in Droitwich, Ely, Knowsley, Ripon and Selby, and with more than 40 customers occupying 1.6 million square feet across 250 acres, it is essential for us to be adaptable, flexible and innovative.

 That not only applies to the way we run Potter Space but how we work with our colleagues and interact with our customers.

The last 12 months have been challenging, and many businesses have adapted extremely well.

There have been great success stories of companies that have re-engineered their businesses to create new opportunities.

However, some have been hit hard, and we have found it vitally important to work closely with our customers who have found themselves in such a situation. We have adapted to their circumstances and helped them navigate through this difficult period by being flexible and innovative.

Take County Steels for example. They first became one of our customers 29 years ago when they rented a single office with two desks and a telephone and sold a range of steel direct from stockholders to local agricultural businesses.

The company then started supplying businesses in the area, many of whom required the same or next day delivery. Needing somewhere to store the steel, we provided County Steels with a solution by providing them with an 8000 sq ft unit near its single office. The business continued to grow, culminating in a further move to a 21,000 sq ft unit on the Potter Space Ripon business park.

Unfortunately, the strict measures of the first lockdown had a huge impact on the demand for steel resulting in County Steels approaching us to see if we could help them ‘ride it through’. We listened and worked with them, which resulted in us agreeing to lease just half of the industrial unit to them.

Understanding the situation and being flexible has been beneficial all around. By organising a more efficient way of storing the steel within the unit, County Steels can hold as much, if not more, in half the space. It also resulted in them extending the lease for a further five years.

Tritan Engineering, a specialist design, fabricator and installer, is another, although slightly different story. They have been with us for 13 years and originally operated from a 2500 sq ft unit but requested more space.

Their desire to move tied in perfectly with our continuous improvement strategy, providing us with the opportunity to demolish this and another older unit and replace them with a modern 4000 sq ft unit, with five-metre eaves height, two electric roller shutter doors and dedicated concrete yard.

During construction of the new unit, we temporarily moved Tritan into one half of a 10,000 sq ft unit. However, rather than it being temporary, it proved to be an excellent move. By doubling the space, they can now work on three to four projects at a time, making them more productive, leading to the creation of additional jobs.

Despite believing the pandemic would affect them considerably they have had their busiest year. With half of their work provided to other customers on the Ripon business park, it resulted in them renewing the lease for a further five years.

In the meantime, we are extremely proud that our in-house team, led by our recently appointed construction manager, John Royle, is progressing well with the building of the new 4000 sq ft unit. It is certainly generating plenty of interest from companies who want to be close to the A1(M) and well-placed for York and Harrogate.

These are just a couple of examples, from many, of the way we have worked closely with our customers to adapt to their changing needs during the pandemic. And, from a Potter perspective, being adaptable and flexible not only demonstrates that you value a customer’s business, but it can also lead to long term gains.

At Potter Space, we are proud to provide a ‘home for business’ and that’s why we continue to work closely with our customers and treat them all as part of the family.


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