As we reach a huge milestone for the business, we find ourselves feeling grateful. Grateful for everything we’ve been through, and to all of the extraordinary people who’ve contributed to where we are and where we’re going.
‘We started with our very first fit out in 2004. It was a friendly, little travel agent in St Helens and we did a really nice job. The client thanked us, which meant a lot, and we got paid. It was a simple start, but we did it right.’
– Matthew Burrows, Managing Director, TJM Projects
We had no idea, back in 2004, that we’d arrived into the industry at quite a fortuitous moment. People had money to spend, local businesses were on the up, and TJM quickly made a name around the North West for quality interior fit outs.
‘From the start our focus was on people. People want to feel part of something. We all want to know that what we do matters. And so people have been at the heart of everything we do.’
We’ve been through plenty of ups and downs along the way. Our first few years saw a real upward trend. We took on bigger and better jobs and we grew as a business, employing good people and investing in skills, equipment and vehicles. But then there was the global banking crisis of 2009, which really took its toll. First it hit our customers, and then the impacts found their way to us. It wasn’t a very pleasant experience at this time and we had to make some tough decisions. But it did teach us valuable lessons about quality, integrity and planning and these are lessons that helped us grow again after the recession.
We made some good investments at a time when others couldn’t. And so when things started to pick up again, we benefited greatly and we went from strength to strength. We picked up a lot of repeat business because the work we were doing had quality and personality. We took on the new workshop in Manchester and the engineers who worked there. And then fast forward another ten years full of creative design, hard graft, big jobs and good people.
• Employing 59 staff
• Running a busy HQ in St Helens
• Manufacturing from our workshop in Manchester
• Serving great people and organisations
• Winning £10 million projects
• Supporting apprentices into long and rewarding careers
• Carrying out extensive construction works and groundworks
• Driving a fleet of 40 vehicles
• Partnering with some brilliant local subcontractors
• Winning high specification and specialist jobs
• Earning UK Government contracts
• Owning a reputation for solutions and quality
We have some really amazing people at our office in St Helens, who help to create the family atmosphere and keep things ticking over. And we’re pleased that we can bring people in who want to stay. We want people to be with us for the long-term. And apprenticeships is one way we can support that.
‘I arrived in 2006 as TJM’s first apprentice joiner. I was 16 and fresh out of school in Wigan. I’ve seen us grow, buy Eckersley Joinery, and earn more creative and specialist projects. I’ve progressed in my career, and today I’m leading twenty engineers on a site in Manchester.’
– Rob Bradley, Site Manager, TJM Projects
Over the years the family and community aspect is something we’ve all come to appreciate more and more. Emails are easy, but we all want to feel part of something, and the extra little personal touches really do matter. The vast majority of our work at TJM is within the North West, and so we’re usually only ever two hours from any customer or site. We love to be local, available and representative of the people we serve.
Innovation has always served us well. In a competitive industry, we don’t have the luxury of sitting on our laurels. So we see the future ahead of us, and we know we have to continue to evolve, grow and improve.
‘Moving forward, experience tells us we’ll be pre-fabricating and assembling more materials off site in our Manchester workshop. Modular designs and plug and play equipment will continue to make installs simpler, swifter and cleaner. We’ll be taking on higher specification jobs and more specialist environments. Thank you to everyone who has been a part of our journey so far.’
– Tony McCabe, Director, TJM Projects
At TJM we’re interior designers, quantity surveyors and meticulous M&E engineers. We design, manufacture, construct and install spaces, places and specialist environments. We take a solutions based approach, we create a family, and we build relationships for the long-term. Our clients can be individuals, developers, corporations or governments. All of our work for the last twenty years has been made worthwhile by the extraordinary people that use the places we create.
Download our brochure Celebrating 20 years of innovative interiors and extraordinary people
