About Us Our Values Live Projects News Our Team Portfolio Get In Touch About Us Our Values Live Projects News Our Team Portfolio Get In Touch About Us - Founded in the 1930s as a small joinery business, Pochin’s Ltd has grown over 80 years to become synonymous with construction and property development in the North West and North Wales. Our timeline... 1930s Cedric Pochin Original loan agreement It took courage to start a business in the 1930s. But that’s precisely what Cedric Pochin did. Pochin’s was formed as a joinery Company in Castlefield, Manchester, with less than £500 capital. There were never more than 10 employees during the first few years as Cedric worked with his brother Arthur to get the business off the ground. Left: Cedric Pochin Right: Original loan agreement The success of the Pochin organisation has been due to something more than its leadership: it has been built on the loyal, devoted and enthusiastic work of its many hundreds of men and women who comprise its personnel. Among us we have the skills, know-how and energies to have made a significant contribution to the nation’s buildings. Cedric Pochin 1940s Joinery Workshop, Middlewich The company’s enviable reputation for high quality joinery served the business well during the war years. Despite labour shortages, Pochin’s produced everything from ammunition boxes for the army to rum jars for the navy. However, commercial success building RAF barracks was tempered by a ﬁre at the Castlefield premises, prompting Pochin’s to move to Middlewich, where it still operates from today. Right: Joinery Workshop, Middlewich 1950s Early days at King Street In the 1950s, the family business started to branch out with contracts won for factories, office blocks, and notably the universities of Manchester and Bangor. In 1957, the company became one of the first outside London to have a tower crane, before launching a marine division a year later. Left: Early days at King Street 1960s Press Cutting from 1965 The start of the 1960s placed Pochin’s on the precipice of major growth. On the back of continued client demand, in 1962, the decision was taken to form a property development division. Turnover in 1964 nearly doubled that of the previous year, before the company reached a major milestone in March 1965: flotation on the Manchester Stock Exchange. Valued at £875,000, work continued to flow in before the beginning of another new venture: a concrete pumping division. Right: Press Cutting from 1965 1970s New Pochin branding Throughout the 1970s, there were several new additions to the ‘big boom’ pump stock, maintaining the company’s position at the forefront of technological innovation whilst contributing significantly to the Manchester skyline. The decade also saw the introduction of the iconic Pochin’s elephant as the company’s logo while it also purchased the land that would later become the hugely successful business park, Midpoint 18. Left: New Pochin branding 1980s Pochin Pumping Fleet If the success of the 1970s had filled Pochin’s sails with bright optimism, the personal and economic trials of the coming years would test the mettle of the family business. The unexpected death of its founder and longstanding chairman in 1980 was accompanied by a much-heralded downturn in the building industry. Despite a challenging climate, Pochin’s continued to win quality contracts throughout the decade and celebrated having the largest concrete pumping hire fleet in Europe, and the largest pump ever seen in the UK. Right: Pochin Pumping Fleet 1990s Midpoint 18 With Midpoint 18 doubling in size at the end of the previous decade, the nineties would prove a defining period for Pochin’s commercially, despite the tragic loss of several family members, including Cedric’s brother Arthur. The upturn of the economy in 1992 was marked with the delivery of a £24m distribution centre for Tesco, as Pochin’s grew its portfolio of office, education, healthcare, residential and industrial contracts. Left: Midpoint 18 2000s Citigroup’s Tower Site The early noughties were a buoyant time for Pochin’s, working on Citigroup’s Tower Site at Canary Wharf among other large contracts. A joint venture with Manchester Science Park proved a major success, but even record profits at the turn of its 70th anniversary couldn’t prepare the business for the impending financial crash that saw commercial property values halved in the space of two years. Right: Citigroup’s Tower Site 2010s to present Buxton Water Despite the recession impacting on investor confidence, Pochin’s rode the storm that saw so many fail. 2014 would prove a monumental year for the business, as Pochin’s was taken private by a consortium led by the founder’s grandson, Jim Nicholson. Freed from the constraints of public listing, Pochin’s order book is thriving with major projects across the North West and North Wales benefitting from 80 years of local knowledge. Left: Buxton Water Our Team Jim Nicholson Chief Executive Find out more... Live Projects T J Morris - Carcraft Regeneration Liverpool Find out more... 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