Burton-based Willshee’s Waste & Recycling is celebrating its 40th anniversary as the company hits £35million turnover and continues its trajectory of 20% year-on-year growth for the 10th consecutive year.
Started by Keith and Maria Willshee on Monday 12th March 1984, with one vehicle and 10 skips, today the company handles 300,000 tonnes of waste per year, owns a fleet of over 50 vehicles and employs 150 staff. Their impressive customer base includes many national retailers and manufacturers including Hobbycraft, Creative Foods, McDonald’s and housebuilder TopHat.
The second generation of Willshees, which comprises managing director Dean, group engineering manager Craig and director Jenna, now runs the business alongside the senior management team.
Business highlights include the commissioning of the £10million state-of-the-art materials recycling facility in Swadlincote which was officially opened 2021; being listed by the London Stock Exchange as one of the top 1000 companies to inspire Britain; receiving recognition as a Top 200 UK women-powered business by global private bank J. P. Morgan and being named the 2023 Business of the Year at the Staffordshire Chambers of Commerce business awards.
Dean Willshee said:
“We are incredibly proud of what we have achieved as a business and as a family. My parents did not know back in 1984 that the sector would become so significant but we are all very glad that they took the plunge and launched the company. The environmental agenda has helped us but I think that we all believe that everyone involved in the business has helped to grasp the opportunities put in front of us, to be innovative, and to work really, really hard!
“Now we want to continue with our trajectory of 20% year-on-year growth. While we are ambitious to grow organically we are also looking to gain increased market share. The recent launch of our national brokering service will play a key part in this as we expand our offer across the UK.
“Opportunities are also coming from stricter legislation which means more organisations need a professional service – with compliant, transparent auditing. And then there is also the rise in demand for refuse derived fuel and solid recovered fuel as an alternative to fossil fuels – and our Swadlincote site has a huge capacity for this.”
Find out more about Willshee’s Waste & Recycling’s history at www.willshees.co.uk
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