A musician and former X Factor finalist from Teesside is now happy to keep singing for pleasure as he devotes himself to his electrical business and the ambitious plans for growth that have secured an investment from UKSE.
Andy Pemberton, who began his career as a 16-year-old apprentice electrician, is now seeing Alps Electrical Ltd, the Tees-based business he runs in partnership with his wife Isabella, taking on new team members to meet growing demand.
Alps Electrical provides a range of services to commercial and domestic customers but demand for its expertise in the solar energy and electric vehicle markets is proving particularly strong.
Andy, with brother Carl, made up Journey South, the duo that finished third in the 2005 X Factor, signed a record deal with Simon Cowell, created number-one albums and toured the world.
“It was an exciting and special time,” says Andy, “but seeing our business growing so strongly and being able to create jobs and apprenticeships in my home area is just as special.
- Read more: Journey South reach end of X Factor road
"Helping consumers and businesses to reduce their energy costs and their carbon footprint is really rewarding.”
Alps Electrical has a strong reputation for its solar energy expertise, especially with commercial customers, and is the only Tesla Powerwall installer in the area, providing customers with an advanced form of storage for solar energy.
The growing team is also busy installing other renewable measures including EV chargers and using their decades of experience to provide regular electrical services to commercial and domestic customers including re-wires, new building installations and maintenance as well as free energy audits for businesses looking to reduce their energy costs.
UKSE, the Tata Steel business-support subsidiary, is backing Alps Electrical with a loan from its Regeneration Fund.
“The Fund helps growing businesses such as Alps Electrical at important times in their development,” said Peter Taylor, UKSE Business Development Manager.
“Our aim is to help businesses create jobs and regenerate local economies.”
Read next:
- Young people face a better chance as region develops
- TVCA interns target jobs after work placement success
- VIP guest as Echo's Level Up visits Port of Middlesbrough
“This UKSE support is important for us right now, and is helping us to expand our vehicle fleet and our team” said Isabella Pemberton.
“We are taking on a couple of electricians and one or two apprentices in the next few months as we want to give local young people the chance of apprenticeships. We are proud of the accreditations and five-star reviews we have that help give potential customers confidence in our business”.
“I am very proud of my roots and love everything about Teesside,” added Andy.
“The people in this area were so supportive of Journey South and voted for us in our X-Factor days so it gives me great satisfaction to be able to offer a useful service for the area and to hopefully make a real difference”.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here