A growing Basingstoke business has played its part in the Olympic and Paralympic Games (From Hampshire Chronicle)

A growing Basingstoke business Daly CBM has played its part in the Olympic and Paralympic Games

6:00am Friday 7th September 2012 in Hampshire Business By Richard Garfield

A GROWING Basingstoke company has played its part in making sure the 2012 Olympics and Paralympics have gone according to plan.

Engineers from repair and maintenance company Daly CBM had spent time preparing for the great events and are currently mobilsed to react to any breakdown situation to ensure its major customers are able to keep the thousands of visitors to the Olympic Park fed and hydrated.

The independent company based in Lennox Road ensures bakery, catering and refrigeration equipment is in tip top condition for companies as diverse as McDonald’s, Tesco , Waitrose, Burger King and Travelodge.

Senior business development manager Craig Hall said: “We have a reactive maintenance contract to deal with any problems at the Olympic Park.

“We’ve invested in £10,000 worth of stock which we put into various lock box systems around the capital, so our engineers can dip in and out if they need parts, not only for McDonald’s but for all our other customers who are affected by the Olympics and Paralympics.

“And we have a permanent team on site at the park, working shifts, offering a round-the-clock service – so there will be somebody on the park at all times.

“The business has grown dramatically in the last year and we have taken on 18 engineers across the country,” added Craig.

Impressed with Daly CBM’s “aggressive growth strategy,” Craig said the company, which currently has a turnover of more than £3.2million, is aiming to hit £10m by the time the next Olympics are held, in Brazil in 2016.

Having increased its workforce by 26 since July 2011, the Daly CBM currently employs 73 people with around 40 per cent based in Basingstoke, with engineers spread across the country. And among them are six hard-working and enthusiastic apprentices.

“We have been very impressed with them,” said Craig, who is keen to offer a positive view of young people entering the workplace, contrary to some national media reports.

At a time when youth unemployment is at its highest levels for many years, Craig said Daly CBM is reaping the rewards of high quality, innovative young employees who are ambitious and determined to grab the chance to work.

“All of our apprentices have slotted in and are all performing to the level required – there is no one here who struggles to keep up with the tasks or to understand them.

“They are an integrated part of the team – we have nothing but positive things to say about our apprentices.”

“In fact they bring with them useful skills, especially in the field of social media. This has become a very important part of anyone’s business now,” said Craig.

Among the apprentices are three working towards an NVQ in customer service, while another is working for his NVQ in customer service in Daly’s warehouse. These four are being trained part-time for their qualifications through Basingstoke ITEC, which is a registered charity.

Two apprentice engineers, who work on the road with qualified engineers, will also be studying part-time for their NVQs in Engineering Maintenance – one at BCoT , while the other based in Kent, will be at a local college.

And in the coming weeks an additional apprentice will be joining the company to study an NVQ in IT.