Decades of steady expansion, technical know-how and a practical, people-first mindset have shaped Elmbridge UK into the business it is today.
In conversation with SoGlos, Barrie Freeman, one of Elmbridge's three directors, looks at the milestones, challenges and priorities guiding its next chapter.
Starting with the origins of the business, what was the initial vision and how has that evolved?
Elmbridge was started by my grandfather in 1976 selling engineering equipment. In the 1980s, his two sons – my dad and uncle – joined him. Each of them went on to have three sons so it was always going to grow as a family business.
I joined in 2001 and was tasked with looking into the paint side of the business. A real pivot was when I visited one of my first customers, a window manufacturer in Cheltenham, who was interested in buying our spray equipment. I realised there was a huge opportunity to sell him paint as well as equipment. That led me to find a paint supplier, Sayerlack, who is still a key partner of ours. This gave us the opportunity to break into the wood industry and become the end-to-end supplier we are today.
Sadly, my father passed away in 2010 and during his illness it was agreed to divide the business between the two brothers and their sons. It was split by geography and category. My uncle took the Hereford site focusing on welding and engineering and with my two brothers Rory and Angus, we took on the Gloucester site and built the paint finishing business.
Looking ahead, what are the top strategic objectives for Elmbridge UK over the next few years?
Top priorities are sensible growth and stronger capability: continue growing organically, pursue the right acquisitions, scale our house brands, and increasing capability for capital projects with dedicated project and business development resource.
Success for me is straightforward – more customers getting better finishes faster, a growing and sustainable product range (water-based and bio-based coatings) and steady, responsible revenue growth without losing what makes us good, which is technical support, quick delivery and hands-on service.
Treat customers well, keep the expertise in the business and the rest follows.
What do you see as the biggest challenge for Elmbridge UK going forward and how are you preparing to meet it?
The biggest challenge is balancing rapid growth with maintaining technical excellence and service standards. Growing quickly doesn't matter if we lose the trust we’ve earned with operators and finishers.
We’re tackling that by investing in our people and structure with our first apprenticeship, clearer development paths and creating new positions where needed.
We’re also making sustainability practical, with water-based systems, bio-based formulations and supplier audits to ensure energy efficiency and ethical sourcing.
What would you say defines the culture at Elmbridge UK?
Practical and hands-on.
One of our values is 'Make it happen' and the Elmbridge team demonstrates that in everything they do. We’re family-run at heart, but professional in delivery.
The culture is about getting stuck in, salespeople will put on overalls and work in a spray shop if that’s what it takes to solve a customer’s problem. There’s a real emphasis on expertise, teamwork and doing what we say we’ll do.
We don’t overpromise, we show results, then let those results earn repeat business.
How do you invest in your people and what are some of the pathways available for people to grow within Elmbridge UK?
We’ve always believed people learn best by doing. We have an onboarding programme for new starters joining Elmbridge but most of our training happens on the job, whether that’s in our spray facility, on a customer site, or working alongside more experienced colleagues.
We’ve started formal apprenticeships, too. The first of these in finance with plans to bring that same approach into manufacturing and technical roles, too.
There’s plenty of room to grow here. People often move between departments from production into sales, or from customer service into business development.
We try to match opportunity with interest rather than keep people in one lane. If someone shows drive and a willingness to learn, we make sure they’ve got a path forward.
What makes Elmbridge UK different from other companies in your sector when it comes to being an employer?
You join us because you’ll be doing work that makes a difference. We’re small enough that every person’s contribution is visible and makes an impact and big enough to offer a varied experience across customer service, sales or technical support.
It’s a supportive, down-to-earth team where you’re trusted to get on with things and encouraged to speak up with ideas. We take pride in what we do and that attitude runs right through the company.
If you like being part of a team that values effort, skill and a bit of common sense, you’ll fit in here.
Finally, what excites you most about the next chapter of Elmbridge UK's growth journey?
What fires me up is seeing our people come together to make customers genuinely better at what they do.
Building our house brands, strengthening project capability and growing our Scottish base after the Indu-Coat acquisition, these are practical wins that will make finishing easier for our customers.
There are lots of challenges ahead but I'm confident that when the Elmbridge team works together, we'll continue to meet our ambitious growth plans.
