4 days ago
- Business
- Press and Journal
Aberdeenshire engineering boss Jim Craig on how he created £10m family business empire
Jim Craig's journey from a hands-on apprentice to the founder of Aberdeen-headquartered JCE Group is a story of determination, family values, and entrepreneurial spirit.
Growing up he had a knack for fixing things and showed particular interest in radios.
After leaving Torry Academy at the age of 15, he started an apprenticeship which was the start of his journey to building a successful business.
Now the 79-year-old is founder and chairman of off-grid and grid-connected renewable energy solutions specialist JCE Group with a turnover of £9.8 million.
The dad-of-three always had a 'hankering' to be his own boss but to be able to share it with his family has 'made it all worth it'.
During his time at school Jim wasn't entirely sure what career path he wanted to take.
But he did know that he had a keen interest in fixing things.
It was this which led him to join Dow & Nicholson as an apprentice winder in 1960.
He said: 'My father tried to get me to go into engineering but I wasn't very keen on it.
'I dabbled a lot with radios and stuff like that and had a knack for electrical things. So I ignored my father's advice and followed my own gut feeling.
'Dow & Nicholson were seen as the premier electrical company in Aberdeen.
'So I went there and served my time as an apprentice winder.'
In the late 1960s Dow & Nicholson was then taken over by mechanical and engineering firm Balfour Kilpatrick.
Jim, also dad to Jackie, said: 'My boss at that time was reading things in the P&J, regarding some kind of activity that was going on in the North Sea. He asked if I would like to go and find out about it.
'So they gave me a little white van and I started going around the doors to find out what this activity was.'
It was of course the start of the oil and gas industry and Jim found himself speaking to a number of companies including BP and Shell.
The company transitioned from quarries and granite manufacturers to the marine oil and gas.
Jim, who married Sandra in 1963, said: 'As the momentum grew, so did the amount of companies switching to oil and gas.
'I remember bumping in to Ian Wood as a young lad when he worked for his father's company Wood and Davidson. He was a bit of a hippie then.
'I also saw Jimmy Milne. There was a whole bunch of young, enthusiastic people.'
In his mid 20s, Jim became offshore manager for the firm and travelled around the world to places such as Norway and the Middle East describing it as 'an exciting time for a young lad'.
By 1979, Jim had 100 people working for him but it was then he started to realise the ambition to be his own boss and a 'hankering' to work for himself.
JCE Group was formed and he started to work for Shell, specialising in the explosion proof (EX) business.
Turnover for his first year of business was £55,000 with only himself as an employee.
Two years later, in 1981, he made the decision to stop working offshore and started his own control engineering business onshore.
The great-grandad-of-three said: 'By that time, I felt confident enough because of my connections in the industry.
'I knew a lot of people. I could go knocking on doors, which I had to do to gain business.
'One of the first things was approach an old school pal of mine who was the managing director of Richard Irvin.
'He gave me an office in the Richard Irvin building in the quay and a shed in York Place and we started building control panels.'
One of Jim's first members of staff was his daughter Alison Cox who joined straight from school at the age of 16.
A short time later Jim was given the opportunity to buy the European assets of American company Crouse-Hinds.
To do the deal he and Sandra had to remortgage their home and he admits it's a move that kept him awake for 'many nights'.
It was then Jim's son Martin joined the firm.
Both Alison and Martin are now joint managing directors of the JCE Group which currently employs 55 people.
JCE continued to grow and they made the move to a new factory in Tullos before relocating to Wellheads Industrial Estate in Dyce in 1988.
JCE Group was there for 10 years before, in 1999, Jim decided to take another big step for the business.
He said: 'We made a decision that we didn't want to pay rent anymore.
'Because we were reasonably well off, we decided to build our own factory in Blackburn Industrial Estate which was new and starting off.
'It's ironic. The industry was dead again as there'd been another crash.
'I remember standing outside with Martin and we looked at this huge building and said, 'are we mad?'
'And we both said, 'no, we're not mad, we're going to carry on'.
'26 years later it's the best move we ever made.'
The industry recovered and JCE Group became the only EX manufacturer in Scotland.
Jim, who is chairman of the Grampian MS Therapy Centre, said: 'We're the only one left and I think we will soon be the only one in the UK.
'Our competition is mainly in Spain and Italy. We're in a niche market.
'EX needs a lot of professionalism, intelligence, and making sure that whatever you do is 100% correct and safe.
'We've been in business since the early 80s, in the EX market, and we've never had one complaint.
'Not even a murmur.'
Although Jim turns 80 in September he's got no intentions of stepping back from the business.
The keen gardener has hopes one day of his grandchildren taking over the running of the firm.
He said: 'We're a true family company.
'It is my intention, my wish, or my hope that the grandchildren within the company will take over from their parents.
'Martin and Alison run the business and I do business development and look after the youngsters.
'As long as I'm happy and healthy I'll still be here.'
Jim has come a long way from his time as a young boy growing up in Torry and would always encourage anyone who dreams of starting their own business to give it a go.
He said: 'I would congratulate the person and let them know the easiest stage is starting a business.
'The difficulty comes from staying in business. But this is overcome by hard work and keeping on top of cash flow. Try not to borrow and work within your means.
'If you do this, you'll enjoy the experience.
'I really take my hat off to anybody who wants to start a business, because I think everybody should.'
