Husband and wife team bring electrician business into the modern world
A family-owned electrician business in Lanarkshire has been modernised after the new owners accessed specialist advice from Business Gateway.
T.R. Aitchison is an electrical contractor with over 60 years’ experience in the electrical industry. They specialise in reactive and planned electrical maintenance work and electrical testing for both domestic and commercial clients.
Husband and wife Frank and Heather Rooney took over ownership of T.R. Aitchison in July 2023 after Frank had been employed by them for 22 years. The business includes an apprentice electrician, Ewan, who has been with them for over three years. Ewan reached the semi-finals of the Screwfix Trade Apprentice 2024, which had over 1,800 entrants. Dog Zeus is their mascot in the window as an unofficial team member and is well-known in the community.
The team expanded in April with a new hire of an electrician to meet demand.
The business was outdated from the showroom to the technology they used, and even with some services. For this reason, Frank and Heather contacted Business Gateway for support in modernising the business. Through Business Gateway, they met adviser Mark Wright, who provided 1:1 guidance and tailored business support, as well as introducing them to other experts who could help them. Mark also signposted them to information regarding employment law and apprentice support.
As a result of Mark introducing T.R. Aitchison to experts, Frank and Heather received two days of marketing consultancy from an expert, and five days of specialist procurement consultancy. The procurement consultancy was instrumental in helping the business to secure contracts with key contacts in the housing maintenance sector.
Thanks to the procurement consultancy, T.R. Aitchison has been able to create a basic tender library to use for public sector work. This has helped them secure a recent key contract.
The marketing consultancy support allowed for a website review and update, with the appearance and functionality creating a better user experience to improve visibility and reputation. SEO was improved as a result also.
A social media review gave T.R. Aitchison recommendations on ways to improve their presence on social media as well as the quality of their output.
Heather Rooney, operations manager at T.R. Aitchison said: “When Frank and I took over running T.R. Aitchison, we knew we needed support to get the business into a better place to future-proof it. The support we’ve had from Business Gateway has been invaluable and has got us into a great place in a relatively short space of time. The business wouldn’t have survived without major updates, which is where Business Gateway came in.
“We are so grateful for Mark’s help and guidance and can’t thank the Business Gateway team enough for all the support they have given us.”
Mark Wright, Business Gateway adviser said: “When Frank and Heather came to Business Gateway for support, we were able to help them modernise the business and bring it into the 21st century. It’s great to see how much the team has been able to help them since July and we look forward to continuing to see them grow.”
