Garage door business celebrates 20 years of continued success

A Helston garage door business is celebrating a landmark birthday having spent 20 years in the town.

Two decades ago, Jon Burtenshaw made the decision to boost his career prospects and set up South West Garage Doors at Water-Ma-Trout Industrial Estate.

Over the following years the business continued to grow and took on more staff, while expanding into new premises with a dedicated showroom for customers.

To help reach even more customers across the South West, Jon opened a second branch at Bodmin in 2004 with floor space covering more than 3,000 sq ft.

The company – which is celebrating its 20th anniversary this month – specialises in the supply and installation of residential garage doors, industrial doors, automated gates, patio awnings, front doors, traffic barriers and CCTV systems.

"I feel hugely proud of what we have achieved in 20 years," said Jon. "And It feels good to be so well thought of in the door industry as a really good company. Over the years we have experienced steady organic growth year on year, which we felt was sensible growth that we could manage rather than massive steps that brought too much change at once."

Jon, 44, who lives in Helston with his wife and four children, was a door fitter before starting the business with a £5000 bank loan, said the team works hard to ensure customers receive the highest quality products and best possible service. "We work hard and try to get it right, and when we don't get it right we do our best to put it right," he said.

The company, which installs all of its own products without using subcontractors, now employs 11 engineers and six office staff, some of whom have been working for the company for many years.

"I would like to say a massive thank you to all our members of staff, past and present, who have been part of our journey," added Jon. "We have several staff members from the Helston area who have been with us for a long time, including Steve for 17 years, Ian for 15 years and Sam and Tony for around 10 years which is great. Obviously I'd also like to thank our customers who help us achieve the level of business that we do now."

To celebrate the key milestone, staff took the day off to go go-karting and enjoy a celebratory meal on February 1 – the same date as the business first opened its doors two decades ago. For more information visit swgdgroup.co.uk