黑洞社区

David Hill, the chief executive of M&E contractor Hills Electrical and Mechanical, is used to making controversial changes. In 1976, as an office manager in his father Ben鈥檚 business, young David was asked to throw out the company鈥檚 paper accounts and program a computer to do the job.

鈥淚t was probably the first machine in the county with a floppy disk drive,鈥� he says, wincing. 鈥淚t took me all Christmas to program it. When I went back in January and announced we had computerised accounts, seven women walked out straight away.鈥�

Thirty years on, Hill has just implemented a fresh batch of changes at the company, which since he took the helm 1995 has grown from a 拢23m-turnover business working in the Walsall area into one of Britain鈥檚 largest privately-owned M&E practices, with battle honours including the Swiss Re tower and Bovis Lend Lease鈥檚 Manchester Civil Justice Centre.

The firm鈥檚 results for 2006 show a return to health after two years in the red, with a pre-tax profit of 拢306,660 on turnover of 拢69m.

The recovery was the result of a change of direction by Hill. In the past the firm鈥檚 policy was aimed at increasing revenues; recently, however, he has cut turnover to stabilise it.

鈥淲hen my father ran the business, he had a maxim of doing only one thing at a time, which made expansion difficult,鈥� says Hill. When he took over after his father鈥檚 death in 1995, Hill quickly changed that. 鈥淲e expanded geographically, opening a couple of offices a year, and we were obsessed with turnover,鈥� he says.

Hill wanted the firm to make sales of between 拢96m and 拢100m, which it did in 2003, booking a 拢400,000 profit besides.

But there was a high price to be paid for all that cash. 鈥淭he wheels fell off the wagon the following year,鈥� Hill says. 鈥淲e lost a lot of money. The company was full of entrepreneurs, everyone was pulling in different directions and the contract control wasn鈥檛 good.鈥�

The then managing director of the firm left 鈥渂y mutual consent鈥�, and Hill assumed greater control of the business. He decided to operate without a managing director, and put in place more centralised systems to control contracts, with the separate offices consolidated into three regional hubs.

We had different airstreams for well dogs, sick dogs and humans

David Hill, chief executive, hills electrical and mechanical

The result is that sales have stabilised at about 拢70m, and Hill is now trying to focus the firm on office and retail fit-out. 鈥淲e wouldn鈥檛 rule anything out, but theoretically there鈥檚 profit to be had in those areas,鈥� he says.

Hills carries out a lot of data cabling, which has led it to work for financial institutions including the Bank of England. 鈥淲e rewired the bank top to bottom,鈥� says Hill.

Through projects like this, the firm has developed a reputation for tight security controls. 鈥淪ecurity was everything on the project, as you鈥檇 expect.鈥�

As a specialist company, the firm has also worked on its fair share of quirky jobs. It has just completed a headquarters for the Guide Dogs for the Blind Association in Forfar, Scotland, which demanded highly specified accommodation including dog showers and raised heated flooring.

鈥淲e had to have different airstreams for different types of animal 鈥� well dogs, sick dogs and humans,鈥� says Hill. 鈥淚t might sound bizarre, but the separation was crucial for the client, and it was a hugely interesting project.鈥�

Wary of repeating past mistakes, Hills鈥� focus is now on steady rather than breakneck growth, and as such, its chief executive has no plans to operate beyond the UK or to enter the takeover market.

Hill is even more adamant about one other thing 鈥� the firm will remain in his hands.

鈥淚f we do get takeover approaches, we give them short shrift,鈥� he says. 鈥淎s you can probably tell, we鈥檙e fiercely independent.鈥�