Last week, we had the pleasure of welcoming Sam Sleight, Membership Development Manager at Made in Yorkshire, back to our site in Thurnscoe, South Yorkshire. As one of Made in Yorkshire’s longest-standing members, we were proud to share the latest developments at Balmoral Tanks – and reflect on the journey that’s brought us to where we are today.
Over the last couple of years, we’ve grown our turnover from £30 million to £47 million, and we’re now working towards an ambitious but achievable goal of reaching £100 million within the next five. This growth is being driven by strategic investment, international expansion, and a continued focus on innovation, quality, and service.
One of our proudest milestones – as highlighted by our Managing Director, Allan Joyce – is being the only manufacturer in Britain to achieve the BSI Service Excellence Kitemark accreditation. It’s an honour that recognises our organisation-wide commitment to delivering outstanding customer service, and one that places us alongside just two other organisations to have renewed this prestigious standard: Luton Airport and Scottish Power.
During his visit, Sam toured our factory with Manufacturing Manager, Matt Canham, who talked him through some of the major changes since we last hosted a Made in Yorkshire Factory Tour in 2023. Chief among them is our investment in a Centriblast shot-blasting line – a near-£1 million addition that has revolutionised our surface preparation process, increasing consistency, efficiency, and quality output; key to our 20% increase in first time passes.
We are also continuing to expand its global footprint, with a brand-new facility soon to be up and running. While a few final steps are still being completed before production can officially begin, we are eagerly preparing to unveil Balmoral Tanks' first overseas manufacturing site. This project has been several years in the making and marks a significant milestone for the business. The new site will be led by a long-serving member of the UK team who is relocating to take on the role – a clear reflection of Balmoral’s strong commitment to nurturing talent from within and providing meaningful career progression opportunities.
People remain at the heart of everything we do. Our Leadership Academy, which has been running since 2011, continues to provide structured, ILM-accredited development for emerging leaders across the business. It’s played a key role in shaping the careers of many team members – including our Finance Director, Natalie Chappell, who also joined the discussion with Sam during his visit.
We’re seeing strong growth across a number of key markets that align with global infrastructure and sustainability goals. During Sam’s visit, Sales Director Jon Smith and Export Sales Director Simon Scott spoke about where we’re seeing the most momentum – from anaerobic digestion and carbon capture to onshore fish farming and green energy storage.
Simon also highlighted a particularly exciting opportunity in the data centre market, where demand for water is substantial – with a single facility using up to 5 million litres per day for cooling. With more than 12,000 data centres now operating globally, the need for reliable and scalable liquid storage solutions has never been greater – and we’re proud that our tanks are increasingly being selected to support this critical infrastructure.
All of this is driven by our five-year strategy, built on four core pillars: ESG, productivity through innovation, service excellence, and people development. These guide our decisions, shape our culture, and ensure we continue building a sustainable, successful future – while staying true to our Yorkshire roots.
We’re looking forward to staying actively involved in the Made in Yorkshire community and hope to see many of our peers and partners at upcoming events.