The new owners accessed specialist advice from Business Gateway, which is supported by South and North Lanarkshire Councils.

T.R. Aitchison is a contractor with over 60 years of experience in the electrical industry. The firm specialises in reactive and planned maintenance work and electrical testing for both domestic and commercial clients.

Husband and wife Frank and Heather Rooney took over ownership of the business in July 2023 after Frank had been employed by the company for 22 years. The firm includes an apprentice electrician, Ewan, who reached the semi-finals of the Screwfix Trade Apprentice 2024.

Dog Zeus is the company mascot as an unofficial team member and is well-known in the community. The team expanded in April with a new hire of an electrician to meet demand.

Frank and Heather contacted Business Gateway for support in modernising the business. They met adviser Mark Wright, who provided guidance and tailored support, as well as introducing them to other experts who could help. Mark signposted them to information regarding employment law and apprentice support.

As a result of Mark introducing T.R. Aitchison to experts, Frank and Heather received two days of marketing consultancy, and five days of specialist procurement consultancy, which is said to have been ‘instrumental’ in helping the business secure contracts in the housing maintenance sector.

T.R. Aitchison has been able to create a basic tender library to use for public sector work, while the marketing consultancy support allowed for a website review and update, with the appearance and functionality creating a better user experience to improve visibility and reputation.

A social media review gave T.R. Aitchison recommendations on ways to improve its presence online as well as the quality of output.

Heather Rooney, operations manager at T.R. Aitchison, said, “When Frank and I took over running T.R. Aitchison, we knew we needed support to get the business into a better place to future-proof it. The support we’ve had from Business Gateway has been invaluable and has got us into a great place in a relatively short space of time. The business wouldn’t have survived without major updates, which is where Business Gateway came in. We are so grateful for Mark’s help and guidance and can’t thank the Business Gateway team enough for all the support they have given us.”

Mark Wright, Business Gateway adviser, added, “When Frank and Heather came to Business Gateway for support, we were able to help them modernise the business and bring it into the 21st century. It’s great to see how much the team has been able to help them since July and we look forward to continuing to see them grow.”