Boss reveals hopes for dozens more jobs

Kevin Byrne, the managing director at construction giant Seymour Civil Engineering, told of his hopes on the day the company posted record results of £35m.

The Hartlepool company has worked on projects including costal defence work, and the rerouting of the Ouseburn river.

The firm is now located in Mandale House, on Hartlepool Marina, with staff who had previously been based in offices in Havelock Street and Navigation Point now all under one roof.

Fifty staff are based in the new building, which is being renamed Seymour House, with the rest of the 170-strong workforce located on sites of the various projects the firm is working on.

Mr Byrne said: “The business is growing, and that is reflected by the fact we have taken over the new building.”

He added: “We are moving in the business in the right direction, there is growth year on year and we want to control that. Five years down the line, I’d like to think we will be operating with a £50m turnover with a workforce well in excess of 300.”

Seymour specialises in drainage, urban renewal projects, restoration and development work as well as sea defence and coastal protection work.

Mr Byrne added: “We had reached a point where there needed to be a step change. We had taken the turnover from £20m into the £30m bracket, and the new building is an ideal location for us as it is just 500 yards from the depot where we keep all of our heavy goods vehicles and machinery.

“The bulk of our business is carried out within a 50 mile radius of Hartlepool, though we stretch as far north as Berwick, down to Leeds and across to the Cumbrian border.

“We also have depots in Blaydon and Darlington, so we’re accessible wherever the work is being carried out.”