February 11, 2025

Vent-Tech – In award contention

Since its creation in 2001, Vent-Tech, the LEV (Local Exhaust Ventilation) specialist, has provided clients with a specialised service centred on industrial applications. This dedication to its craft has not only allowed the company to amass over two decades of growth, but has also attracted award recognition. This continues to this day, with the company having recently been nominated for a prestigious BESA Award.

“From the very beginning we specialised in only carrying out industrial work, rather than general ventilation or focusing on kitchen applications,” explains Adrian Sims, Owner. “By specialising in this area, we’ve become the ‘go to’ for complex industrial systems due to the wealth of knowledge we have accumulated.”

Thanks to the diversification in its field of expertise, the geographical spread of Vent-Tech has also increased, and it is now able to operate not only UK-wide from its base in Bristol, but also on the global stage, able to present teaching courses for clients all over the world in the likes of Australia, New Zealand, Abu Dhabi, South Africa, Chile and Brazil.

While reluctant to see himself as a trailblazer, despite being the first person in the country (and one of only a handful in the world) to hold the Certificate of Competency (Control) in LEV and the BOHS’s Faculty of Occupation Hygiene’s Specialist Member Grade for LEV, Mr Sims’ a forward-thinking approach has certainly served Vent-Tech well over the years. “We’ve always been a business that’s prepared to do what is required. It’s been about making sure the service we offer is the best available and fully meets the needs of our clients.”

This approach has not only underpinned Vent-Tech’s ability to grow and develop – both at home and abroad – but has also enabled it to attract industry recognition. Having run various accolades over the years, it is now in the running for the Specialist Group Award for Excellence at the BESA Awards 2022. “It’s fantastic to get external recognition from your industry peers and it’s also really positive for the entire team as a whole. We’re not just up for a single award either, as we have a few amongst the team that have been nominated too, including one of our employees that’s been recognised for customer care.

Keeping people at the heart of its operation has been integral to Vent-Tech’s ability to keep moving forward.

Adrian Sims, Owner

“When you look at what a business has and what a business does, what’s its greatest asset? It’s its workforce. You can go out any buy the best computers, the best equipment and the best vans but unless you have the people to apply the correct knowledge to make a project happen, then all you’ve basically got is a collection of stuff.

“People are the glue that holds any business together and are what makes the whole greater than the sum of its parts. It’s all about engaging with people as much as we can. If we want to be engaged with our clients then we need to be engaged with ourselves.”

“We diversified how we do things in the industry a few years back and changed our business model from that of an installation company to a consultancy-based business where we can come in and use our expertise to help people develop their solutions. As a consequence our turnover has stayed pretty static, but it has gone from 80% installation work to about 20% with consultancy having become a considerable slice of our workload from a standing start. The installations have therefore dropped massively, not because we are losing the work but because we’re able to advise people better in order to resolve their problems. It’s not just about extraction, often it’s about education and reducing exposure.”

Having hit upon a winning formula that continues to work well, Vent-Tech looks well placed to keep its forward progression going, making further award recognition even more of a possibility in the months and years ahead.