WINNEROFFAMILYBUSINESS OF THEYEAR

Atraining business led by abrother andsister took home theFamily Business of theYearaccolade.

Bekki Phillips of In-Comm Training in Aldridge said:“This is forour dadGeoff Jones,who started this companywithhis business partnerColin Mills.

“Wehavetried to live up to his legacy.”

Sheischief operations offerand brotherGarethJones is managing director of the41-year-old business

Thepresentationwas madeby RichardBullfromcategorysponsor

Crowein Oldbury

Success

Bekki said that theteamatInComm wasa bigpartofthe success of thetrainingbusiness, whichsupports850 apprenticesand 500companies everyyear.

“The management team that we have putinplace hasled us to whereweare now,”she added.

Judges were impressedathow InComm hadinvested in newfacilities andstate-of-the-artequipment to grow profits

They said that Gareth andBekki hadworkedclosely together to build on thefamilylegacyand hadcreat- ed abusinessthatwas focusedon thefuture.

In-Commwas also said to have a vibrantatmosphere.

Thecompany,which hasits headquarters at VigoPlace, is aleading provider of apprenticeshipsand trainingcourses.

Itsfounders, both experienced industrialists, hadwanted to make sure industry hadaccess to thevery best apprenticeshipsand skillsdelivery.

In-Comm, rated‘outstanding’ by Ofsted,now operates from three world-class technical academiesin theBlack Countryand Shropshire

Over thelasteight yearsthere hasbeena£10 million investment in state-of-the-art technologyincludingCNC machining,CADCAM, 3D printing,roboticsand welding.

Thecompany hasmorethandoubled in size since2015.

During thepandemicitwas able to flip learning online andthen manage therestrictions.

Thebrother andsisterhavesuccessfullygrown thebusinesstoa record £2.4mturnover by theend of 2022,which represented a£1m increasesinceearly 2021

Theofficiallaunchofits Telford Academygaveitanother 20,000 sq ft of manufacturingtrainingspace