News 13
AMP celebrates silver jubilee
AMP, one of the UK’s longest established and successful independent air conditioning distributors, is celebrating its silver jubilee year and unveiled exciting plans to expand its operations.
Launched in 1989 by founders Polly McConachie and Martin Michaelson, the company has grown to become a £17m turnover business, specialising in high efficiency, premium brand air conditioning.
AMP began its 25th year in style, being shortlisted for a major award for growth and customer service excellence in a national competition. Ms McConachie said: “It’s a great way to start our jubilee year, and reflects a lot of hard work and creativity on the part of the dedicated AMP team. She added: “It also says a lot about the fantastic relationships we have developed with our customers over the years. Our approach from the beginning has been collaborative, underpinned with high quality technical support. We believe this is the key to delivering successful projects for installers and clients.”
The AMP team, now 41-strong, is headquartered at Welwyn Garden City with branches in the Midlands and Bristol. All main centres are equipped with training facilities, and the company has pioneered with a strong emphasis on technical training. The next step is a complete refurbishment of its dedicated Toshiba training centre for installers and field engineers at Welwyn Garden City. It will offer the recently expanded range of practical and theoretical courses launched by the manufacturer. The distributor began trading from an office and warehouse in north London. “At the start, we had just three members of staff,” said Mr Michaelson. “Two years later, we were expanding with the opening of the Bristol branch. After a lot of hard initial work
establishing the business, we were on our way.”
A big leap forward came with the acquisition of purpose-built offices, training room and warehouse at Welwyn Garden City in 2001.
The success story has not been without its dramas and challenges. The withdrawal of one the AMP’s key air conditioning franchises in 2004 was a major reversal and a potential threat to the business However, AMP was soon appointed a Toshiba distributor, effectively replacing the lost products in its portfolio with the well- known Toshiba range. Continued growth led to a move in Bristol to new, larger premises, followed by an AMP presence in the Midlands with a new branch in Birmingham. This year the company is planning a series of industry and customer events to mark its silver jubilee, spanning the year.
Its development plans include continued organic growth, ISO 9001 accreditation, and the Investors in People award.
“The key to any business is people,” said Ms McConachie. “Our staff are the best in the business, with excellent technical knowledge and a can-do approach, that customers appreciate and rely upon.”
Mr Michaelson said: “When we first started AMP, we had a philosophy and that hasn’t changed: if you do the simple things well, every day – such as deliver on time and go the extra mile for customers – it has a cumulative effect, and you build relationships that last. We have built our business on this approach, and it still seems to be working.”
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