LMS announces strong growth ahead of global expansion plans

20th May 2021

LMS announces strong growth ahead of global expansion plans

We are delighted to announce that after a successful trading year, our plans to continue with our expansion strategy including the opening of a new facility to support the US market and a focused recruitment drive are in full swing.

In the first quarter of 2020, we saw a loss of 50% in our revenue due to the pandemic and low oil price, yet despite economic uncertainty of the past year, we have recovered and now reporting a 16% increase in turnover and 19% increase in profits.

This is the fifth consecutive year of revenue and profit growth for LMS, which has been achieved by the continued investment in products and services to support clients and a greater focus of diversification into other market sectors.

Kirk Anderson, our Managing Director, said he attributed a large part of the recent success to the hard work and dedication of staff, keeping the office open when others were closed and continued support for customers despite the challenges of the past 12 months.

“It was vitally important to the survival of our business to have our staff back at work. The safety of our employees is always our highest priority and, despite the many challenges we faced, we will be a stronger and more resilient business when things do start returning to normal, thanks to due diligence and exceptional team morale.

Millar Kennedy, our Sales Director, added:  

We were able to meet the demands of our customers globally by continuing to increase our product range and stock availability. During a time when other businesses were locking down, the LMS workload was intensifying and, despite restrictive working conditions, we managed to find safe methods of delivering our client requirements.”

As a result of the increase in demand for our services and record profits, we have invested heavily into opening a new base in Houston, Texas, initially planned for summer 2020, now provisionally scheduled for summer 2021, dependent upon travel restrictions to the US being lifted.

Commenting on the upcoming move into the US market, Kirk said Houston was an obvious choice for the company’s expansion with 20% of last year’s turnover already from the US market.

The financial performance and continued growth provide a strong foundation for our global growth plans,” he said.

“LMS is focused on high-quality, responsive service and we are in a great position to move forward.

“We already have a substantial customer base in the US and it continues to grow year on year. Houston is a key location and we will be positioning ourselves at the centre of our customer base in the popular ‘Energy Corridor’ area where we can support a large proportion of our customers”.

As part of the US growth strategy, the company will continue to focus on new markets, “Diversifying into non-oil & gas sectors, such as aquaculture, wind energy, subsea, Decommissioning, construction and entertainment, is a major focus going forward as we explore these new opportunities and closer align ourselves with our customers in North America,” continued Kirk.

Our expansion into the US will allow us to provide clients with a wider range of high-quality products and services and to meet this demand within a shorter timescale. This will include product sales, rental, repairs and calibration services.”

This latest round of good news for us comes just months after we announced a new ‘strategic partnership’ and investment by Austrian based Pewag Group - one of the most established chain manufacturers in the world with innovative lifting related products.

Kirk says:

“The collaboration with Pewag has served us well in recent months as we have increased our product portfolios to expand customer support across diverse industry sectors worldwide. We are continuously developing our existing product range and strive to introduce new and complimentary products to the business in order to support our clients’ needs. The support from Pewag group and associated companies provides another valuable network of potential customers and influential clients who are key to LMS’s continuing success.

The continued growth of our business has also led to the appointment of a new Finance & HR Director, Fiona Booth. This newly created role was necessary to assist with the financial requirements of the business, support the ongoing training and development of existing staff and the recruitment of additional new staff over the coming months.

Commenting on her appointment, Fiona said:

“I’m looking forward to the new challenge and I’m delighted to be joining LMS where I will be working closely with Kirk, Millar and the team. LMS recognises the need for growth which is testament to the determination to meet and exceed the needs of its clients. I’m also looking forward to playing a key role in the ongoing growth plans of the business as we seek to make new staff appointments.”

Kirk added:

“We are excited to have Fiona on board as her experience and knowledge will strengthen our team and provide essential support as we forge ahead with expansion plans and with our goal to be the ‘number one’ supplier of intelligent lifting products to global industries.”