Unemployment was the spur for Worcestershire engineer to go it alone

Jun 23 2009 by Graeme Brown, Birmingham Post

A young Worcestershire engineer and family man has turned redundancy to his advantage by falling back on his trusted manufacturing skills to start his own business.

Carl Horton, aged 23, found himself in the Jobcentre after losing his position as a service engineer at Droitwich manufacturers Butters AMT just a few months ago.

But a lead from the Jobcentre to Business Link West Midlands proved to be the turning point. He met an adviser the next day and the following week was working for himself, trading as Horton Welding Supplies Ltd.

Knowing that, during the credit crunch, few people have the money to buy new equipment, Carl has set up on his own doing what he does best – repairing and maintaining welding machines which were the tools of his trade in his former job.

Carl, who has a two-year-old daughter and lives at home with his parents, explained: “Being made redundant, as anyone in my predicament knows, just blows a hole through your life as you know it.

“The first thing that goes through your mind is, ‘how am I going to support my young family?’

“I’ve been inundated since setting up on my own,” said Carl.

“Because of the length of time I’d been in the industry I made a lot of contacts with clients and suppliers and I’ve been able to make the most of that when setting up the business.

“I now have orders coming in thick and fast – many of them through suppliers to my previous employers.

“I’ve been very lucky as I’ve been able to convert the bungalow next to my parents’ house into a workshop and I also have premises in Kidderminster for the larger projects.

“I’ve converted my daughter’s playroom into an office – which she isn’t too pleased about – but it’s going really well.”

Horton Welding Supplies repairs and maintains welding machines, including TIG, plasma cutters and MIG welding machines – right down to circuit board level.

Carl, who is planning to get married, has also started selling welding equipment.

“I had to wait five months to get my VAT number which held the retail side of the business up,” Carl added. “But, now I have it, an old supplier has been able to get hold of 24 welding machines and I’ve sold all but two of them!”

Carl made his first steps on the road to self-employment through his adviser, Anabela Fereira.

They drew up a business plan, discussed the finances and worked on how to market the company and the importance of building a website to attract even more business.

Anabela said: “Before long Carl was making contacts with old suppliers and clients, and has been overwhelmed by the response he’s received.

“Although his business has only being going a very short time, Carl is completely booked up with work and is looking at ways to develop his business venture further.

“I have rarely met anyone of Carl’s age with such commitment and solid work ethic.

“Within ten days of us meeting, he had started working for himself. It’s just incredible.

“Being so knowledgeable about his trade and having worked for a much larger company has allowed him to spot his niche and capitalise on that.

“Carl has all the skills required to build, maintain and grow a successful company and is a model example of what entrepreneurial spirit is all about.”