Burnley company SBS hits 50 year milestone

Established in 1972 by long-time friends Steven Wilkinson, Barrie Bamford, and Stephen Crane, SBS was set up to deliver electrical engineering services to domestic and commercial clients.

Fifty years on, following a successful buy-out that was completed in 2015, SBS is now recognised as a specialist in the North West for the provision of electrical and mechanical engineering services to clients across all sectors and industries, including for hospitals, schools, manufacturing and production facilities, and local authorities.

“Since joining the company back in 1990, it’s been a pleasure to watch it grow and evolve into what it is today,” said Alistair Brown, managing director at SBS. “I came on board as an electrical engineering apprentice following a three-week work placement over thirty years ago. In the time I’ve been here, the company has gone from strength to strength, and it’s very exciting to see SBS celebrating its 50th anniversary this year.

“Having worked my way up within the company and spent time working as a qualified electrician, eventually gaining experience running some fairly sizeable projects myself, it was a proud moment for me to have my work recognised by the three founders back in 2002, when they approached me to discuss their long-term plans for the business.

“Since I made the move into the role of managing director, there have been a number of significant changes implemented in order to facilitate further growth for the business, including the acquisition of another local electrical contracting company - Safe Electrical - in 2018. With this acquisition, we integrated the company’s owner, Liam Mulready, into our own team, welcoming him on board as our commercial director in a bid to develop the M&E turnkey package arm of the business.”

SBS commercial director Liam Mulready said: “Later on this year, a number of us will be taking part in the Three Peaks Challenge to raise funds for Pendleside Hospice and Manchester Children’s Hospital, and in July we’ll be hosting a 50th birthday party at Finsley Gate in Burnley, which is set to be attended by the company’s three founders, as well as previous team members and some of our long-standing clients.

“Looking ahead into 2022 and beyond, we’re excited to continue with our plans for further development, and have another acquisition planned which will allow us to expand our controls services.

“As a company with a proud 50-year history, maintaining and building upon the strong reputation that the original founders succeeded in establishing all those years ago is one of our core priorities.

“Whilst it’s our time to head up the business now, our shared aim is to ensure our staff, clients and partners are well looked after so that, at some point in the future, we can pass a successful business down once more to a new generation of engineers who are establishing themselves in the industry, with the hope that fifty years from now, the SBS team will be celebrating a century in business.”