When Notts Sport Ltd was created back in 1984, Sri Lanka were taking on David Gower’s finest in a tour that ended in a draw. Fast forward 40 years and while the fortunes of the England cricket team have fluctuated somewhat over the past four decades, for its part, the specialist in surfacing systems for sport, play and leisure has gone from strength-to-strength. So, what’s been the key to the company’s success? Construction Industry News recently caught up with Duncan Bennett, their newly promoted Chief Executive, to find out…
“It’s a good question,” says Duncan. “We’ve undoubtedly had a bit of luck along the way, but principally the core values that were implemented into the business from Day One have been crucial. We’ve also constantly reviewed the changing market conditions, responding accordingly, which has most recently resulted in us launching, as of November 1st, an exciting four-year plan to grow the business with Andy Earnshaw (Managing Director) and I being given responsibility for leading that plan with the wider Board and team. In order to deliver that plan, we need to identify new markets and potential growth areas within the industry, so we’ve always had a very active R&D department on the lookout for products that can provide additional benefit value to clients.”
Such an approach has enabled Leicestershire-based Notts Sport to develop a strong reputation that is reflected in an enviable client base that includes many clubs, schools and local authorities, as well as regional, national and international sports bodies. This has enabled the company to chalk up a growing portfolio of prestigious projects, as Duncan outlines: “We’ve recently completed a development at Wood Green School in Oxfordshire, home of Witney Hockey Club, one of the leading clubs in the sport, and we’re also proud to be Official Facility Partners to England Hockey for over 12 years and counting.
“Within football, meanwhile, we’ve been involved in a £1m project at Blenheim High School in South-West London, which is where Chelsea Ladies’ Academy is based. Another high-profile project we completed in South-West London was the re-development of Dickerage Sports and Community Centre, which is where Declan Rice, the England and Arsenal footballer, grew up playing youth football. We worked closely with Declan and his team to bring the facility into the 21st century. It was a great project to be involved in as around 800 members of the community came out for the official opening.
“Away from sport, one of the biggest flagship playground projects we’ve completed in the UK was at Princess Gardens in Edinburgh, which is at the bottom of Edinburgh Castle. This was another fantastic development to be involved in.”
While Notts Sport has built up a strong name for itself at home, the company is increasingly broadening its horizons thanks to the quality of the offering it can provide. “Mainland UK is our core market, but we also have an export division, headed up by our Managing Director, Andy, and we’ve just recruited an international sales manager, Franck Opsomer, that will further enhance our overseas sales. Germany’s our biggest export market, and we’re also supplying customers in Spain, Finland, the Czech Republic and North America. In fact, one of our most prestigious contracts is in Central Park in Manhattan, where our surfaces are used in all the playgrounds. We’ve had this contract for around 13 years now and we’ve got some other projects lined up over there in the next two to three years.”
Underlining its continual thirst for innovation, next year Notts Sport will be launching a non-plastic artificial turf for cricket and play, becoming the first in the world to do so. “At the moment there’s a huge drive towards sustainable design solutions within the marketplace,” says Duncan. “That’s been something that we’ve been passionate about for ten years or more and continue to be so. The whole premise of the company is to create long-term sustainable relationships with our customers, as well as with our supply chain partners, such as long term construction partners such as South Wales Sports Grounds, the Slatter Group across Cricket and Play, Bingham Ground Services and Cleveland Land Services, as well as new construction partners such as Hunts Contractors and Adsum.”
Four decades down the line and this approach is obviously working well for Notts Sport and is sure to continue to do so in the months and years ahead. For the time being, however, the company would be forgiven for taking some time out to celebrate just how far it has come since its creation.