Harlow - Case studies
Case Studies for Harlow
Harlow helping Bupa Home Healthcare to become the UK’s ‘Number One’
“It’s a matter of people and places for us at Bupa Home Healthcare. Being in Harlow gives us access to quality people and Harlow is simply a great location for our business.” – Steve Flanagan, Managing Director
Bupa Home Healthcare employs approximately 500 people in Harlow and has been in the town since 1976. Its business has gone from strength to strength and it’s now the UK’s most experienced community-based healthcare provider working with thousands of patients every year. What’s more, the company is looking to double the size of its operations in Harlow within three years.
“The most important things Harlow gives us are access to quality people and convenient connections to our markets,” says Managing Director, Steve Flanagan. “The quality and dedication of the labour force here is second to none and, with such straightforward access to the M25 and M11, we can also ship from our Harlow base to anywhere in the UK with ease. These things matter to our business and they’re why we’ve grown so successfully here and why we are investing to build an even stronger future in the town.”
Bupa Home Healthcare is a specialist in providing solutions to treat patients within the comfort of their own homes. Its services help patients to access the treatments they need without having to go to hospital. Typically, its services help patients to live longer, give them a better quality of life, and reduce pressure on NHS hospitals and waiting lists. The NHS is the firm’s largest customer.
“We assemble treatments in our pharmacy facilities in Harlow as well as manage their distribution. That means we need highly skilled pharmaceutical expertise as well as the people that can make our business work operationally,” adds Steve. “Harlow gives us that and, what’s more, we have really strong retention here compared with some of our other UK sites. That makes a big difference because it helps us reduce costs and, more importantly, it creates a sense of shared ownership. We are very fortunate to have such a dedicated workforce and I’ve not come across anywhere else quite like Harlow for giving employers that advantage.”
Harlow’s position among a cluster of pharmaceutical businesses and expertise locally is another major benefit, as is the arrival in the town of Anglia Ruskin University.
“When we set up in Harlow, being part of a community of similarly focused healthcare and pharmaceutical firms was a big attraction,” Steve explains. “It’s proved to be a real boost for us and continues to be. With Anglia Ruskin University setting up in Harlow as well, we see opportunities for even better links between practitioners and the education and research providers, and that has to be a good thing for all of us.”
With a vision to grow operations in Harlow, the availability of suitable space is something else Bupa Home Healthcare has looked at seriously.
“We have a combination of office, laboratory, manufacturing and distribution space and pretty specific requirements as an occupier,” says Steve. “I know we can grow here in Harlow though because the right space is available at the right cost. That’s another big weight off my mind because it means we can plan for the future without worrying about the risks of relocation. Harlow is a good home to us and that’s how we’re keen for it to stay.”
Happy in Harlow – Steve Flanagan’s view:
- Labour: good access to skilled people who stay and give us tremendous dedication and continuity.
- Access: straightforward connections to the strategic road network, making our distribution operations efficient.
- Place: Harlow’s more than just the town – it’s surrounded by some of the best countryside I’ve seen anywhere in the UK. It’s a great region in which to live as well as to work.
Harlow: ‘precision-engineered’ for business
“We depend on quality labour, quality access to our markets, and quality skills to make our business work – we get all of that in Harlow.” – John Tennison, Managing Director, Smiths-Harlow
Smiths-Harlow is one of Harlow’s longest-standing businesses and has been in the town since 1948. Today, it employs 70 people at its base on the Pinnacles Industrial Estate. It designs, manufactures and maintains sophisticated engineering components and systems with a focus on the aerospace and environmental sectors. Managing Director, John Tennison, has been with the firm since he joined as an apprentice.
“We’re a precision engineering business,” says John, “so apply rigorous standards to everything we do and to how we work. Our business demands 100% accuracy and skilled people that understand both the engineering side and the customer service and sales side. That’s one of the key benefits we get from being based in Harlow – good people who have helped us to create a good business.”
Smiths-Harlow sells products and services to customers across the UK and into Europe, with France and Germany important export markets. Having access to strong transport connections makes this task easier.
“We’ve just picked up an exciting contract in Northern France and we do a significant amount of business in mainland Europe,” adds John. “We can ship our products easily from here – whether by road, rail or airfreight – and benefit significantly from Harlow’s excellent transport links. It’s a further boost that more is now being done to strengthen these even further with improved connections planned to the M11. These upgrades will be welcome and make things even easier for us.”
Smiths-Harlow manufactures products to its own designs as well as on behalf of its customers. Excellence in innovation and the ability to execute precision engineering to an exact brief are core strengths of the firm.
“We’re really proud of the fact we manufacture our own products as well as products for our customers,” adds John. “Manufacturing is a crucial contributor to the UK economy and, over more than 60 years of experience, Smiths-Harlow has been at the forefront of technical excellence. As we continue to grow our business and diversify our customer base, we are confident in our team’s ability to innovate. That confidence comes, in large part, from the calibre of workforce we enjoy here in Harlow.”
As a former apprentice, John is keen to ensure continuity and investment in Smiths-Harlow’s workforce. He points to the fact that Harlow College is now running engineering apprenticeships as a major plus for employers in the town.
“Businesses need young talent and Harlow has certainly fed our business with bright and able recruits,” explains John. “We are an apprenticeship-led business. Many of our management team have developed through that route and it’s something we value as part of our culture. We aim to take on two to three apprentices a year and, with the support we now get from Harlow College, it’s even easier to bring in the next generation of young engineers. I started as one and am now Managing Director. Apprenticeships are vital and give people a platform on which to build a career, whether in the hands on engineering side or in management roles.”
Happy in Harlow – John Tennison’s view:
- Apprenticeships: Smiths-Harlow is an apprenticeship-led business and we recruit two to three a year to maintain the strength of our team. Harlow College’s support is a major help.
- Expertise: we came to Harlow because of the attractions of the labour pool. That was in 1948 and we don’t regret it for a minute!
- Access: Harlow’s geography is ideal for us – we’re well connected to our key UK customers and have excellent links into our international markets.
