The appearance of Take That star Gary Barlow on our TV screens last December evoked a real sense of pride in the watching McGee household.
For husband-and-wife team John and Alison knew something the singer-songwriter, along with his star-studded line-up of Michael Bublé, Alesha Dixon and Ronan Keating, were all blissfully unaware of. And that was should the iconic venue – London’s Natural History Museum – suffer a power failure, then the TV special would continue without interruption.
The world-famous museum is just one of the high-profile organisations and businesses across the UK to seek that guarantee from Teesside-based critical infrastructure specialists, Durata. It specialises in installing, monitoring, and testing uninterruptable power supplies and cooling systems for data-led industries, including banks, hospitals, government, and Ministry of Defence sites. John, who is Durata’s managing director, said: “It’s all about providing peace of mind and protection – knowing that, in the event of an outage, there is an immediate and seamless supply of power.
“Even a brief loss of power may have potentially disastrous consequences, and could affect a business’ ability to trade or, in the case of a hospital or bank, delay access to crucial data.” Company secretary Alison added: “We happened to be watching the Gary Barlow TV special and were full of pride knowing that Durata was playing its part in ensuring it could be broadcast without a hitch!”
The business was founded by time-served electrician John in 2013, with ex-colleague Andy Mullen, after spotting a gap in the niche critical power market. In the intervening years, Durata has worked on highly prestigious projects throughout the UK, Europe, and Middle East, many of which are covered by confidentiality agreements. Clients include the National Archives, several Ministry of Defence sites, the British Museum, Royal Academy of Arts, together with a range of businesses and data centres. The company is a preferred partner for integrated services specialists CBRE, as well as installation partners to the world’s largest UPS manufacturers, and recently signed an agreement with one of the world’s largest technology infrastructure companies.
From humble beginnings, Durata has grown from a team of two to employing 23 staff and last year moved into new headquarters on Tees Advanced Manufacturing Park (Tees AMP) in Middlesbrough, where it is surrounded by key suppliers, including Cleveland Cables. Classed as a critical supplier, its services have been in demand during the pandemic, which has succeeded in underlining the importance of data security. Several new projects are due to start in the coming months, and as a result, Durata is looking to recruit up to eight electrical and mechanical engineers as part of its long-term expansion plans. Some of the additional work it has been involved with over the past 11 months has included logistics centres and testing facilities following last spring’s lockdown. Alison, previously the regional manager of a tooling company, said: “Many of the sites we have worked on are now being used as mass vaccination centres so it’s great to know that we are contributing in a small way to the fight against Covid-19. “We have also worked to guarantee power supplies to hospitals and a range of businesses, such as banks and data centres. We are also expanding our offer to include green to green technology to embody the EV world we will soon be living in. “Because many businesses introduced home working arrangements, our experienced engineers have been able to go into their offices and carry out the work without disruption.” Durata, which operates sales teams in the South East and South West, is also seeking to expand its work in the North of England.
John added: “We’ve always been based in the North East and our roots are here, so we want to expand the business here in the North. “The majority of our work is in the south of England, where I think businesses and organisations seem to be more aware of the need for critical back up and they view the cost as necessary expenditure. “In the North, while the attitude is changing, it is very much the case that the benefits are only recognised once a disruption has occurred.” Alison added: “Durata has become a leader in critical power infrastructure because of its high standards. “For a company from the North East to be involved in such prestigious projects and long-term contracts is a real success story for the region, and we look forward to growing the business further in the coming months and years ahead.” John and Alison McGee are members of the Entrepreneurs’ Forum, a group of like-minded people who come together at inspirational events to share best practice, create valuable connections and help each other to grow their businesses.
For more information, visit www.entrepreneursforum.net
