Burnley business stalwart undergoes rebrand and huge apprenticeship drive

Back in 2018, Pipeline Induction Heat (PIH) – now rebranded to CRC Evans (more about that later), adorned the front cover of Issue 15 of this very magazine, after being given a longstanding contribution to Burnley award by Burnley Council. The award marked 30 years in the borough after the company moved from the south of the country to Burnley following incentives the council were providing to encourage investment – and it hasn’t looked back since.

Before we get into why the company has rebranded, we first wanted to learn more about what is still described as “a hidden gem”.

The company will soon mark 35 years in the town and Paul McShane, CRC Evans’ managing director of the company’s Burnley facility, credits its continuing success to a solid reputation for customer service and innovation, which the business has worked hard to maintain over the years.

Paul explains: “The company was formed to serve a gap in the market for the field-joint coating of oil and gas pipelines, and for many years we had little competition. Despite our reputation within the industry, we were less known in the Burnley area, finding that many potential employees hadn’t heard of us – a challenge when recruiting! When people think of the oil and gas industry in the UK Burnley just isn’t on the radar.”

Supporting young local talent

As a result, many employees are local to Burnley with word of mouth and recommendations enabling the company to recruit and retain its staff. More recently, the company has built strong relationships with partners such as Burnley College and Themis, encouraging the next generation into the business by way of apprenticeships.

At the latest count, CRC Evans had a nine-strong team of apprentices working within various areas of the company - and thriving in their roles.

In February, one of its mechanical engineering apprentices, Aaleigh Beardsworth, won the prestigious Themis Platinum Award for 2023, testament to both Aaleigh’s hard work and CRC’s steadfast support of its apprentice team. In 2019, the company was awarded for its impressive apprenticeship scheme –winning the coveted Apprenticeship Scheme of the Year Award at the Burnley Business Awards, something that the team is incredibly proud of.

Paul continues: “Our apprentice team play an important part in the company and we’re passionate about giving young people the opportunity to build a valuable career with some incredible prospects, along with the chance to travel. We have projects all over the world; in fact, Antarctica is the only continent our team hasn’t been to in the last two years. Our apprentices embrace these opportunities, plus the continuous development that is available to them when choosing a career with us.”

New beginning

So, the future is looking bright with a new wave of talent coming through, which leads to the next big milestone for PIH – its new name. The CRC Evans group has several well-known businesses within it, all of which can cater from start to finish on a project, such as the welding, coating and inspection of pipelines, as well as associated technologies. It has built its reputation over an impressive 90 years.

“We are very excited about expanding our market-leading coating services and technologies under the CRC Evans brand, with the trust and resources to support our existing customers and the ambition to grow in new sectors. CRC Evans’ strong culture of innovation and renewed focus on research and development will support the development of new technologies to support greater automation and efficiency,” Paul details.

“Given the importance of providing secure and affordable energy, CRC Evans will focus on emerging energies such as offshore and floating wind, carbon capture usage and storage and hydrogen, as well as the wider infrastructure and nuclear sectors.

“As with many businesses, we need to be flexible when dealing with market challenges, but with an 86 per cent retention rate over a ten-year period, the Burnley business remains strong due to the commitment of its people.”

Attracting and developing the next generation of employees is clearly part of that strategy and Burnley’s growing status as a university hub and its strong commitment to apprentices will clearly support this. And while it’s always great to have hidden gems, this is one Burnley company that we believe won’t be a best-kept secret for too much longer as it attracts young talent and pivots towards a more renewable energy future.