Teesside newcomer Prosafe Engineering has set its sights on increasing turnover to £1.6 million next year after Middlesbrough MP Andy McDonald officially opened the firm’s impressive new premises on Riverside Park Industrial Estate.

Providing safety solutions for the global process industry, directors Greg Hynes and Mike Styan have already rocket-launched their initial £2,000 investment into a forecasted turnover of £1.3m this year – and won a brace of North East Business Awards in the Best Newcomer category.

It’s been a rapid rise for the 30-something pair, who started out in a two-man office in Plenary BV House – the former home of Middlesbrough’s pioneering ironmasters Henry Bolckow and Joseph Vaughan.

Prosafe’s new Bowes Road offices include a workshop, boardroom and training room, and full disabled access facilities.

The firm currently has 11 staff, with plans to create four more jobs by mid-2019 and man a satellite office in Aberdeen full-time from next year onward.

A chance meeting between the two ambitious Teesside engineers in an Aberdeen bar laid the foundation for the start-up company.

Greg and Mike worked on and offshore in the Granite City but had never met until a mutual friend introduced them on a night out in 2015.

Having hit it off immediately, the duo quit their jobs and set up Prosafe, armed with a deep contacts book and sensing an opportunity to help improve standards within their specialist sector.

Now, with room for expansion, they are targeting a £1.6m turnover in 2019.

“It’s been an exciting journey so far,” said Hynes. “When we first started out, we didn’t get paid for about four months. But when 2017 arrived, from the first week in January until this moment in time it has just been relentless.

“All of our hard work started to come to fruition, and it ended up where a decision had to be made where we had to move into larger premises.

“What we’ve moved into is five years away but everything is under one roof now and will help us grow.”

Prosafe are the UK’s exclusive distributor for world-leading process safety product manufacturer Solis, and are one of the top-performing agents as they export worldwide.

Solis manufacture mechanical interlocks which enforce safe valve operation in industries such as oil and gas, while Prosafe are experts in their field at designing interlocking systems.

“The products and services we supply enhance safety because a lot of the time they either reduce the risk of human error or take the danger away,” Styan explained.

“Having Solis on board is massive for us, and we have got one product we are hoping to develop ourselves in future as well.”

While Hynes and Styan are proud of their giant strides, they take great satisfaction in being able to play a part in maintaining Teesside’s rich industrial heritage which Bolckow and Vaughan started.

“We have both worked away from the area throughout our careers,” said Styan. “But the driving force was that we wanted to be at home and set something up here, and that’s what we’ve done.

“It’s a good area to be based in because we can compete against other areas where overheads might be more expensive, and we have got the transport infrastructure here and industry on our doorstep as well.

“We want to be involved with new projects – potentially with the old SSI site – and be ambassadors for the region and a company that creates employment, does things the right way and provides a good quality service.

“If we stay true to our core values and do a good job every single time, hopefully the future will look after itself.”

Prosafe’s new offices even feature a shower and bike storage space with fitness enthusiast Hynes encouraging staff to cycle or jog to work, which is apt considering his cousin Matty Hynes is an international long-distance runner.

After making a sprint start to life in business, you wouldn’t rule out Prosafe from sustaining their success over the long haul either.