Companies from the Swansea Bay City Region account for nearly a quarter of Wales' fastest growing indigenous firms.
The Swansea Bay City Region, covering the local authorities of Neath Port Talbot, Swansea, Carmarthenshire and Pembrokeshire has 11 firms on this year's Wales Fast Growth 50, an influential list of the fifty fastest growing indigenous firms in Wales.
Over the period 2017-19 the firms from the Swansea Bay City Region, saw their combined turnover climbed £35.1m to £60.1m.
As well as an annual growth rate of 138% They created 238 new jobs over the period.
Launched back in 1999 by its founder Prof Dylan Jones-Evans, the determining factor for inclusion is revenue growth from 2017-19, with firms requiring sales of at least £250,000.
Collectively the 50 firms, from across Wales, generated £476m in revenues and employed nearly 2,600 people in 2019.
More importantly, they produced an additional £301m of turnover during the 2017-2019 period at an average growth rate of 172%.
They also created more than 1,300 new jobs in just two years, doubling their workforce and demonstrating their continuing importance across the Welsh economy.
Profile of the Wales Fast Growth 50 firms from the Swansea Bay City Region:
1. Trueform (Tenby)
Established: 1996 | Growth (2017-2019): 561.0%
Based in Tenby, Trueform is a manufacturer of reinforced concrete (pre-cast concrete and concrete structures) in any size to large infrastructure projects and to smaller agricultural and domestic installations.
Its expertise covers the manufacture of precast concrete structures, formwork/shuttering and falsework and groundworks and the business is also skilled in providing power floated floors, diamond drilling and concrete repairs.
2. Countrywide Hearing (Swansea)
Established: 2012 | Growth (2017-2019): 219.5%
Countrywide Hearing works with insurance companies to validate claims and replace hearing aids that have been lost, damaged, or otherwise claimed for.
Its husband and wife founders Ben and Trine Davies had specialist audiology knowledge which enabled them to offer a bespoke and unique solution for this unmet need in the insurance sector.
3. CDSM Interactive Solutions
CDSM is an online learning management system provider for education and business that is led by educationalists with a passion for organisational and personnel development.
CDSM understands and recognises that both schools and businesses need an effective digital learning and development function to succeed.
4. The Consumer Helpline (Swansea)
Established: 2016 | Growth (2017-2019): 135.3%
The Consumer Helpline is an outsourcing centre that works in the energy industry and has direct sales and customer service campaigns for many of the UK’s leading energy suppliers including Octopus Energy, Peoples Energy, ESB Energy, Utilita, Shell Energy, Orbit Energy and Spark Energy.
The business also has customer service campaigns for Bristol Energy, Spark Energy and Magnum Utilities..
5. Warmserve Plumbing & Heating (Swansea)
Established: 2011 | Growth (2017-2019): 126.4%
Warmserve delivers plumbing and heating services throughout South Wales and covers all aspects including plumbing, heating, gas, oil, solid fuel, solar and bathroom installations.
It has 20 staff that cover all types of jobs daily from planned installations and maintenance to emergency claims where there is a need to be on site within two hours.
6. InSite Technical Services (Pembroke Dock)
Established: 2014 | Growth (2017-2019): 124.3%
InSite operate both locally and internationally in three business areas: supplying engineering design, consultancy and support to a variety of clients in the oil refining, LNG, nuclear and renewables sectors from their base in Pembrokeshire.
They specialise in brown-field modifications, debottlenecking, safety and environmental enhancements, and refurbishment of operational process plants.
7. Character.com (Swansea)
Established: 2009 | Growth (2017-2019): 123.5%
Making its sixth consecutive appearance on the Wales Fast Growth 50, Character.com is the UK’s largest independent online retailer of licensed clothing and accessories for children and adults.
It produces an exclusive range of nightwear, clothing and accessories featuring the nations favourite characters from the worlds of TV, film and books. Its products range from Minnie Mouse to Minecraft and Peppa Pig to Star Wars with a focus on great quality, great value and fantastic customer service.
8. Gower View Foods (Cross Hands)
Established: 2005 | Growth (2017-2019): 115.5%
Gower View Foods is a contract manufacturer largely involved in the foods and drink sector. It has a highly sophisticated dairy production site that is able to package a large range of fast moving consumer goods for the UK chilled dairy and yellow fats sector.
It specialises in butter and yellow fats but also operates extensive range of liquid potting filling lines with cream, yogurt, brandy butter and breakfast muesli pots all filled on site.
9. Boss Brewing (Swansea)
Established: 2015 | Growth (2017-2019): 98.3%
Boss Brewing is one of the few female-owned breweries in the UK and produces a range of craft beers in can, bottle, keg and cask, manufactures white label beers for retailers and pub companies, and provides a contract brewing service for other breweries.
As well as its own 20 barrel brew kit, its manufacturing facilities houses the firm’s own canning and bottling plants so all packaging is carried out on site..
10 JTI Trading (Bodysocks) (Pembroke Dock)
Established: 2011 | Growth (2017-2019): 97.0%
Bodysocks designs and sells fancy dress costumes ranging from wacky piggyback suits to elaborate inflatable outfits. Its costumes have been featured on BBC 2’s Never Mind the Buzzcocks, Channel 5’s Big Brother and were used during the opening ceremony of the 2012 London Olympic Games.
It has since grown to sell to over 70 countries worldwide and its vision is to become the world’s most recognised, respected and trusted fancy dress costume brand.
11. Zeal Innovation (Swansea)
Established: 2013 | Growth (2017-2019): 87.5%
Zeal Innovation has designed and manufactured the innovative range of Litelok locks for bikes which is the result of years of research, development, engineering and testing.
To do this, it has harnessed the unique security properties of multiple innovative, lightweight materials to create a composite strap called Boaflexicore. Each layer provides additional security, meaning that it can withstand sustained attack to the highest level from tools such as bolt croppers and hacksaws.
Criteria
- Sales of at least £250,000 in 2017
- Be an independent and privately held business (not a branch plant or wholly own subsidiary of a non-Welsh based company)
- Be based in Wales.
- Rankings are based on percentage growth of revenues from 2017 to 2019.
