Established in 1875, Bagnalls is one of the country’s leading specialist, painting, decorating and industrial coatings contractors, a business that is now lead by the fifth generation of the family, Stephen Bagnall.
The company was formed over 145 years ago in Shipley, West Yorkshire, where the Head Office still resides.
Since then, the Bagnall Group of Companies has become renowned in the UK for its ability to undertake contracts successfully in any location, of any size, nature or duration with the personal service that one expects from a firm now in its fifth generation. It is nigh on impossible to come up with a type of building or structure that they have not painted!
Bagnalls’ outstanding reputation has been achieved and maintained through a succession of experienced managers and staff, working together with a well-trained team of directly employed operatives and apprentices.
Family Business United visited their Doncaster Training Academy as part of the 2022 Family Business Road Trip to catch up with Stephen and Marketing Director, Joanne Gualda, to find out more.
As Paul Andrews, Founder and CEO at FBU explains, “It was great to visit their Training Academy, along with their fifth generation Group MD, Stephen and fellow director Joanne, to see first-hand the incredible work of their apprentices. People make family firms and Bagnalls is a fantastic example of a family firm that takes pride in its people, investing in their skills, personal development programmes and supporting their wellbeing too.”
Bagnalls has come a long way since it was established by Alfred Bagnall way back in 1875 and remains firmly focused on its core activities of painting, decorating and specialist industrial coatings. Bagnalls is a family business with a culture of empowerment and strong leadership. The business provides an inclusive voice for all employees trusting in their abilities to deliver high levels of customer service across the UK.
As Stephen adds, “we have worked hard to continue our family business journey. Our history and heritage is rich with stories of things that we have been involved with and fabulous things that we have painted – from the original Empire Stadium that became Wembley to gas pipelines, museums, rail stations, universities and so much more. All of these projects add to our narrative, but we never stand still and cannot rely on the past, we have to look to the future.”
“As a business we are constantly investing to be the best we can be and ensuring that we are pioneering in the way that we operate. We embrace new ways of working, support our staff and their well-being, invest in the future on many levels and are always looking to lead the way and have some exciting plans for the future as we approach our next milestone,” concludes Stephen.
As Paul continues, “Bagnalls is a great example of a fantastic family business, one that continues to push boundaries and gain recognition for all that they do, as a business at the fore of its sector but also for the ongoing investment in the training and development of its people. There is so much to be admired, not just what they do but in the way that they do it.”
We look forward to seeing further developments as they move towards a fabulous milestone in 2025, ‘Together Towards 150’ and a business continuing to ‘paint the nation with purpose and family values at their core.’
