IT EXPERTS Cornerstone Business Solutions are recruiting as the Teesside-based business closes in on a record-breaking £2 million turnover for the first time.
Based on Preston Farm in Stockton, Cornerstone have already increased their team to 22 with the recruitment of four new staff – with more to come – plus a new apprentice as they build on their “best ever” year that saw them win “three or four new customers every month”.
New clients including Darlington-based road planning contractors Todds Highway Maintenance, Teesside’s puncture-proof tyre specialists Green Tyre and York-based staircase manufacturer Bisca have been added to an impressive portfolio that
already included Middlesbrough Football Club, training company TTE, Camerons Brewery, the Endeavour Partnership, Butterwick Hospice and international technology group MAP.
Cornerstone managing director Chris Petty said: “We’re winning business all the time – at the rate of three or four new customers a month – but we never sit back. We constantly challenge ourselves and ask ‘How far we can grow?’
“Teesside was our focus last year and we’ve achieved what we want with massive local growth, though we have customers right across the North-East, down to Leeds and as far north as Aberdeen.”
“We have been looking at the potential to expand into Leeds but right now our focus remains closer to home. Why rush around the country looking for new customers when there are enough here on our doorstep?
“From Day One our aim was to be the best IT company in the North-East – I believe we are already that for Teesside. We’ve become a brand that people know and trust.
“Customer experience is absolutely key. We don’t just sell our products, we build relationships with our customers. That’s our ethos, so we rarely lose customers.
Whether they’re a big business with dozens of staff or a sole trader, they get the same high service levels, no matter what.
“We grow with our customers. For instance, we’ve looked after the IT requirements of Camerons since they were a small brewery.
Cornerstone have recently hired three new members of staff and an apprentice is the latest new addition to a team that includes four staff members who first joined the firm on apprenticeships.
Petty added: “It’s fantastic to be creating more local jobs, while we’re big believers in apprenticeships. In a multi-skilled business such as ours, apprenticeships are the best way to learn on the job all the stuff you can’t learn in the classroom.
“Obviously you’ve got to invest time in apprentices – and we’ll certainly do that – but if you find a gem then you’ve potentially got a long-term member of staff who can contribute to the company for many years to come. Three of our existing staff started with us as apprentices.”