Half a century in plumbing business

A plumbing and heating engineer who has reached 50 years in business says he has no plans to retire.

Mr Paul Derry, 72, of Grange Road, Newark, founded his plumbing firm in 1967 and has grown it to a team of ten people who take on jobs across the UK, as well as smaller jobs closer to home.

Paul Derry Plumbing and Heating Engineers, which marked its 50th anniversary yesterday, regularly takes on bigger jobs in London and last year went as far as Wick, in the far north of Scotland.

Mr Derry said he did not believe the firm would be working so far and wide when he founded it 50 years ago.

He started his career with an apprenticeship at R. I. Derry’s in St Mark’s Lane, Newark.

Mr Derry then set up his own plumbing and heating firm, which, within two years, had its own office in Middlegate.

He took on work with Nottinghamshire County Council, installing boilers for schools across the county and cornered the market locally in solid fuel boilers.

Mr Derry was based on Middlegate for 15 years before moving to Beaumond Cross and eventually Grange Road, where he remains today.

He is a senior partner in the firm along with his wife, Mrs Christine Derry, and their son, Mr Mark Derry.

He employs office staff, who work from his home office on Grange Road, and eight fitters.

The firm covers all jobs, from leaking taps to bigger installations, and has installed plumbing and heating for large hotels in the capital.

Mr Derry said one of the biggest changes in the industry was how much the cost of items had risen over the years.

He said a solid fuel boiler that would have cost £25 half a century ago would be around £1,200 today.

Mr Derry said: “The biggest change for a small business is the increase in paperwork, especially in health and safety.

“There is also the difficulty of getting young people into a trade and, in particular, the building trade, because most young people want to sit at a desk and play with a computer.

“They don’t want to get their hands dirty so it is very difficult.

“The cost of taking on an apprentice now is a major undertaking.”

Humble beginnings

Mr Derry said the firm had come a long way from its humble beginnings.

He said: “I was on my own in 1967 and now there are ten of us, including office staff.

“It is unusual for a firm like ours to take on the whole range of the industry — domestic, commercial and industrial.

“Firms of our size do not usually cover all of those.”

Mr Derry’s cousin was Lieutenant Colonel Sam Derry, Newark’s most decorated war hero, who recommended him to many clients when he was starting out.

He said he was grateful to his late cousin for bringing him trade in the early days.

Mr Derry said despite the fact many people his age would be long-retired, he had no plans to do so.

“I’m staying for some years,” he said.

“What [else] am I going to do?”

Mr Derry will celebrate his firm’s 50-year milestone at a party for invited guests at Newark Town Club tomorrow.