A major UK supplier and manufacturer of pumps has extended its working relationship with MET Recruitment after a hugely successful jobs push.Trebles, which operates from a national distribution centre in Wolverhampton and two flagship sites in Derby and Uxbridge, had been struggling with succession planning and in finding the right people to support recent growth.

Established in 1966 Trebles is the largest independent pump distributor with manufacturing and service capability in the UK. The company’s knowledge is not just limited to a handful of pump types or brands – it spans in excess of 50 suppliers, with team members specialising across all fluid circulation product types, from domestic, to commercial and industrial pumping and pressurisation equipment.

Trebles holds in excess of £3m stock holding within the UK, primarily held at its national distribution centre and head office location in Wolverhampton. The company is not afraid to invest in stock. With the team’s expansive product knowledge, Trebles know which products to stock to suit various applications, enabling a quick delivery timeframe.

The company had tried fulfilling a host of positions through investment in apprenticeships, graduates, and direct advertising, but none of these routes delivered staff that stayed the course.

Frustrated by the lack of results, the management team chose to tap into an existing relationship with Dudley-based MET Recruitment, this time asking the agency to help it with the placement of permanent staff.The results have been impressive, with 10 new employees found, interviewed and then supported into seamless employment with Trebles.

“There’s been a lot of recent investment throughout our Wolverhampton site, the purchase of a building for our London branch and the introduction of a new customer relationship management system,” explains Stuart Herritty, managing director of Trebles. “This has all been done to support expansion, with demand for our bespoke plant solutions and enormous range of pumps, including big brands like Grundfos, Lowara and Wilo, growing significantly over the past two years.”

Trebles also has its own range of in-house designed and manufactured product.Some of the company’s most well-known innovations include the EcoBoost and Ecoboost+ booster sets, along with the Trebles Pressbox. Furthermore, from Trebles dedicated manufacturing and engineering department a regular yet bespoke flow of Packaged Plantrooms and Skids leaves the workshop, delivered as complete solutions to the sites of customers.

Says Herritty: “People are our most important asset and an area we also needed to invest in due to staff retiring and the business taking a more proactive approach with succession planning, not to mention increasing our commercial and technical strength in-depth.There’s no doubt we had a period of ‘failed’ recruitment where trainee employees have left within comparatively short periods of time. With this in mind, we chose to target more experienced employees, and this has been more successful in integrating new staff into our current 65-strong team.”

MET Recruitment’s permanent team had worked with Trebles since 2018, but the relationship has really accelerated over the past 12 months.

Experts at the agency joined forces with the management team to identify key positions, future skills needs and the age demographic of the workforce, taking all this information and putting it into a coherent employment strategy.

Over the course of the year, MET successfully placed 10 permanent employees across a variety of business areas, including administration, customer services, warehousing, accounts and sales. All fulfilled key positions or were strategic hires that enabled the pump specialist to deliver operational performance and plan for ongoing growth.

Stella Wakeham, head of the permanent division at MET Recruitment, says: “This is a perfect example of how we can work with our clients to help them overcome a number of recruitment challenges.It’s no longer just a case of moving temporary workers around. We spend alot of time getting to know firms like Trebles, understanding their pain points and then using our own expertise, systems and pipeline of talent to deliver the answers.

She adds: “In this instance, the client found part time/temp staff struggled to learn the specialist nature of their industry and instead wanted a longer-term focus. Training new staff is a sizable investment and, to get the best return, employees need to stay and grow with the business. This is something our permanent division has delivered, with 10 new employees recruited and making a real positive difference.”

Originally set up to supply workers to the mechanical and electrical trades, MET Recruitment has gone from three people in a small office on the Pensnett Trading Estate to a 23-strong agency operating from a dedicated head office on Wolverhampton Street in Dudley and The Permanent Staffing Hub on the Waterfront.

Investment in its 360° recruitment solution for clients and an industry-best support infrastructure for candidates has helped it secure a strong client base across engineering, manufacturing and professional services.

Trebles operations manager Stuart Tomlinson concludes: “As we continue to grow, MET will continue to be the first port of call for our recruitment needs.”
For further information www.metrecruitment.com