Cornwall is a county that has long been associated with metals – generally tin and copper – but now a company based in Devoran, near Truro, is working hard to supply the needs for reinforcing steel within that county.
The late father of the present owner, Richard Orsman and his uncle, who farmed in the area, purchased a company called Pellows Joinery, which became Devoran Joinery specialising in one off items of architectural joinery. In their early years at Devoran Joinery the directors started to deal in non-ferrous metals and then added reinforcing steel to the range.
Richards explains, “I joined the company about 27 years ago and spent my time developing the steel side of the business. Then, five years ago, we sold off the joinery business and concentrated on selling reinforcing steel. During the last five years, our turnover has tripled to around £3 million and we have invested in the company, particularly in processing machinery, such as bar cutters and welding facilities. We have a 6.5 acre site and have recently doubled the size of our fabrication shop to around 5,000ft2 and installed a new EOT crane.”
Today, the company has widened its range of products to meet the needs of both local people and local, national and international companies. For domestic use, Devoran have developed a range of garden structures, such as tree umbrellas, arches and trelliswork. They will also produce bespoke items.
For commercial uses, Devoran carry out a large amount of land reinforcement work right across the county and has even shipped reinforcing steel to The Falkland Islands! Products are shipped across Devon, Cornwall and Somerset using the company’s three vehicles, two of which are fitted with cranes; beyond this, national carriers are employed.
Richard says, “We are always looking for new products. We have recently introduced small garden gabions, which we sell through our new on-line shop and which are suitable for smaller gardens and for creating retaining walls. We offer accessories for installing gabions, landscaping materials, welded mesh sheets and more. It is interesting where our products turn up: for instance, a steel arch that we had made in January 2011was spotted on BBC2’s Natural World programme Heligan: Secrets of the Lost Gardens, which focused on the vast array of wildlife that calls Heligan home. In addition, some of our garden gabions were sold to two garden designers for use in their display at Ecobuild 2011.”
For further information please telephone 01872 863376 or visit www.devoran-garden-gabions.co.uk.
