A family-run business which successfully diversified during the coronavirus pandemic is creating 10 new jobs as it continues to grow.
AAA Caring Caretaker, which is known as Caring Caretaker, was founded by CEO Richard H Tucker MBE in 2015 to support an existing property company he was already running.
Since then, the Aycliffe business has grown rapidly and is now in the process of relocating to a 0.8 acre site at Bowburn North Industrial Estate in County Durham, which will enable the company to create 10 new jobs and further diversify into new markets.
Richard said: “Over the past couple of years, our business has grown significantly, and even during Covid, when many employers struggled, we managed to diversify and grow.
“We were already distributing PPE equipment for the NHS, but because of our military experience and expertise (we were trained to deal with NBC which is nuclear, biological, and chemical situations), we were contracted to provide specialist cleaning services in a number of hospital wards including a rapid response mobile support team across the North East and Yorkshire, including the Covid wards.
“Our flexibility to respond, along with our team’s attitude, provided a significant opportunity for us which has fast-tracked our growth.
“We got to the point where we’d outgrown our existing premises in Newton Aycliffe and needed to find alternative space which would enable us to expand our team and create our own storage and warehousing facilities which can accommodate the products and equipment we use and supply to clients.”
The company, which employs 41 people including 17 ex-armed forces personnel, nine of which have unseen disabilities, is now in the process of fitting out the new site in Bowburn and hopes to move in by the end of the summer.
As well as the NHS, Caring Caretaker provides cleaning and caretaker services to companies and organisations across the North East and Yorkshire, including PD Ports, Hartlepool Marina, Esh Housing, and the MOD.
Richard added: “As part of the relocation to Bowburn, we’re going to create a flagship centre for the business which will include office space and storage facilities, as well as leaving us with land leftover for future development as we continue to grow.
“We’ll also be recruiting 10 new people, for which the advertising and interview process has already started, and that will put us in a much stronger position to secure more large contracts, like the ones we have with the NHS and PD Ports.
“We are also welcoming our first tenant, Lifting and Cooling, who will continue to operate from Polar House though their current offices and garage. This provides us with an additional source of income and utilises space we don’t currently need.
“It’s an exciting time for the business as we continue to implement our ambitious plans for growth over the coming years.”
Caring Caretaker, which also employs Richard’s daughter Alison Stephenson as company MD and son-in-law Robert, has successfully tapped into Business Durham support programmes, including the Routes to Contract Success, and the County Durham Growth Fund, which has awarded the company a grant as part of the move to larger premises.
