Saturation of double glazing products in the residential marketplace was the catalyst for Total Installations Ltd to take a step backwards in order to find the way ahead.

Grasping the opportunity to bring in new thinking, Duff Henry who has run the Aldershot based business with his wife Madeleine for 16 years, called on the advisory team of Business Link Hampshire.

Eighteen months later, the company has achieved a substantial increase in profits, whilst halving its square footage and maintaining the same level of workforce. The next major project is to embark upon the achievement of ISO 9002 (2000), thereby reinforcing its

credentials in the commercial marketplace where it is increasingly winning larger and larger contracts.

Already Total Installations has supplied and fitted glazing at

hospitals in Slough and Windsor, health centres and many schools, both new build and refurbishment.

The key to its more profitable approach started with a thorough review by Duff and his Business Link Hampshire adviser, Jim Travers, of the manufacturing output, deciding which of the product lines it made sense to produce itself, which to close down and which to outsource.

Says Duff Henry, "We were

plodding along alright but just had the feeling we would become dinosaurs if we did not adapt to a changing market. It always takes someone from outside to come in and point out what you are doing wrong.

"It may well be something you have been saying to yourself for several years, but when you're pushed into a corner you have to admit it. Then Jim extracts dates from you. Before you know it, you've stopped doing what you should have stopped three years ago. You don't really feel that you've learnt anything new, but for some magical reason you have changed your whole philosophy and approach.

Jim spends regular sessions with the company which means that when one member of the senior team has a problem, be it the installations manager with a recruitment issue or the sales manager with an advertising question, then his time is allocated to them until its sorted out.

As a result, the company, which prides itself on its entrepreneurial approach, is now becoming more professional, picking up on

mistakes to make sure they are not repeated, and implementing quality procedures. The additional

profits are being ploughed back into the company to expand production capacity, and finance new equipment and vans. The directors know their rapid progress can be attributed to the hard work and commitment of team of 23 staff as much as it can to Jim, but they certainly describe him as "the best thing we have done".

For value for money, they say the advice from Jim cannot be beaten. It is simply put but never condescending, it is independent and the company always makes the final decision itself.

"If we had had to pay for the calibre of people that we have received from Business Link Hampshire from a professional organisation, then we would either have been frightened off or not been able to afford it," says Duff.

Such advice from business advisers working alongside the company to help it overcome

problems to growth is available to all companies in the region from Business Link Hampshire. Just ring the team direct on lo-call 08454 58 85 58.