Harbro Electrical has been a mainstay on Peterlee’s South West Industrial Estate for over 25 years, supplying products to many of the area’s factories and residents. EDB editor Leanne Fawcett sat down with MD Phil Harbord to find out more about the company and its illuminating growth across four decades…
One of the first things that strikes me about Phil Harbord, a man I have known myself for many years, is that he is hugely passionate about his business.
When we sit down to chat about Harbro Electrical, he tells me he gets as much pleasure from someone coming into his showroom to buy a 99p fuse than he does the big five-figure contracts which have helped see turnover pass £2 million.
I am curious to know why.
“We are probably one of the most stock-rich electrical wholesalers in the North East, with around 80 per cent of what we sell readily available on our shelves.
“We’ve built up a reputation for the quality and quantity of our stock, which means that when people come in the chances are they leave with what they came in for. And sometimes, that can be someone coming in for that one product that they need to complete a job, and it might only be a 99p fuse or cable, but the satisfaction I get from seeing how happy they are is priceless.
“I know that they’re going away with what they want, so they’ll come back. And not only that, they’ll recommend us to their friends and colleagues.
“That for me is as rewarding as winning a big contract.”
Harbro Electrical was officially incorporated in 1998 but can trace its roots back to around five years before then, when Phil started working with his dad.
He tells me how that came about, but firstly, a bit about his colourful career from leaving school.
“My first job was at NSK Bearings and I lasted a year, and that was followed by various jobs working on building sites and in factories. Then I always wanted to work for myself and after a brief course at college, I got a one thousand pound grant and with it I set up Phil’s Fresh Fish. I ended up with a good contract at the County Hotel in Durham and having two market stalls. I did this for a year then I got sick of the 5am starts to buy the fish, so I packed in.
“I then moved to London with some friends – like Norman Tebbit said ‘get on your bike’ and that’s what I did. I got a job as a porter in the West End of London and was very good at it because I liked dealing with people.
“I also I worked at Wellington Hospital and had a few other jobs too.
“I then moved to Torquay, working in the hotels, before moving back to London to work for British Rail.
“Throughout my time working away I always came home to the North East, and I think I got to the age of about 27 and realised I had no real career prospects.
“I worked with an old Iranian and was telling him I had had enough of going all over for work. By this point I had 27 different jobs from leaving school and had been sacked seven times.
“He said to me, he thought I would make a good salesman – his reason being that I had ‘sold’ myself 27 times to get the jobs I had, so I was born to sell.
“So I got a job selling double glazing, which I did for many years.
“By this time it was 1993. My dad was an electrician and had been running his own business in London, but unfortunately one of his clients didn’t pay him and he went bankrupt.
“He came back home and I set him up with his business again, which was Steadfast Electrical. My older brother had already started Steadfast Security, so there was nice fit there, and that is how I got involved. I started selling for my dad and when I was buying goods for him I realised there was a market for selling them – I could buy them really cheap and make a lot of money marking up.
“So, in 1994 we opened a shop in Horden called Steadfast Retail, selling goods to the commercial and residential markets.
“As we got better and bigger we moved to Whitworth Road in Peterlee and my three brothers all invested in the business.”
This growth led to the official incorporation of Harbo Electrical 27 years ago, and two further moves in the same area of the South West Industrial Estate, to the unit the business currently occupies.
The business is now owned by Phil, his wife Jackie and his brother David with 10 people in total employed. Two of Phil’s brothers moved on but the whole family has businesses in Peterlee. One of Phil’s brothers, Michael, along with his niece Natalie and nephew Paul run Steadfast Security; while his other brother Ian, niece Sammy and nephew Criag run CTH. Meanwhile Phil’s two sons James and Thomas run JTH. All three companies have accounts with Harbro and like Phil, they all support local sport teams, charities and the local community.
Over the years Harbro Electrical has built a healthy client portfolio, initially starting with a core customer base of local factories including NSK, Kookaburra, Walkers, Caterpillar and ZF (TRW as it was then) before winning work with local authorities and East Durham College.
However, it was a substantial social housing contract that brought both financial security and risk that led to the business diversifying.
Phil says: “The social housing contract was with Morrisons and it increased our turnover massively. However, the downside was we lost the service we used to give to factories because we were so hands on with it. We had it for six years and really, we were busy fools. It’s fair to say it did give us some financial problems and when it ended we had to reinvent ourselves.
“This was about seven or eight years ago and at the time, LEDs were becoming very popular. We decided to take a risk and invested in this lighting and created our showroom. We felt that this presented a real opportunity for us as until this point we didn’t have a lot of electrical contractors as customers. Gradually we started bringing them on board and over the last few years have gone from strength to strength.”
However, like many businesses, Harbro Electrical faced the unprecedented challenges created by the Covid pandemic and did mean that Phil had to think on his feet to protect his business and its staff.
“I took a bit of a gamble during Covid. One of my suppliers was bringing hand sanitisers and masks into the country and I could get a deal on them, but I had to buy £75,000 worth of products in one go. I decided to do it and I used my contacts to sell them on. Within a week I had sold it all, so we carried on selling PPE during Covid and our figures kept steady
“It definitely think this helped us – we were one of the few wholesalers open so we gained a lot of new customers, many of whom we still have today.”
So, what does Harbo Electrical look like today, and what are Phil’s plans for the future?
“Our client portfolio now includes 73 electrical contractors, and we supply to trade, commercial and residential. But what I would like to do is go back to where it all started, and get back in with some of the factories in Peterlee. We recently started working with NSK which is great as they were one of our first customers, but there are so many others we’d like to start and work with.
“We’re so established and our turnover has sat at the £2m mark for a few years now, which is good because it shows we’re a secure business.
“However, I would like to grow and I know there are businesses out there that would benefit from our expertise. Our staff really know their stuff and I personally offer free energy, lighting and heating surveys to show people how they can save money.
“I don’t think there are many businesses like ours that are as good at what they do, and have as many products available to buy off the shelf. We’ve got over £400,000 worth of stock on site and that means the chances are we’re selling what you want.
“When we moved onto the industrial estate, there was no Tool Station, Screw Fix, Maxwells, MKM, Plumbing Centres, big names like that. People thought it would be bad for us, as they’re more recognised. But it’s been the opposite, they’ve been good for our business because they don’t stock as much as we do, so they will happily send their customers round to us to get want.
“The business is in a good place, but there’s definitely an untapped market out there for us, so my priority over the coming months is to get in front of the factories in this area and see how we can work together.
“I love what I do, and I am proud to say that I don’t think there any many other businesses like us. People know us and they trust us, and that counts for so much. People do business with people and I think that’s why we’ve always done so well, our customers become our friends.
“I am also hugely passionate about the community, and love to support grass roots sports teams and local charities. Every year we help Santa’s Wish which is a charity that helps children who have nothing and I am very proud of that.
“It means so much to me to give something back. I am a local lad, I live in Castle Eden, and I was proud to be captain at Castle Eden Golf Club and also that Harbo is a sponsor of the club. I definitely think our active support in the community helps with the business as people know we genuinely care.”
www.harbroelectrical.co.uk
