Shelton Sportsturf Drainage

About the business

Established in the early 1980s, Shelton Sportsturf Drainage is a manufacturer of specialist drainage equipment based near Horncastle. Owned and managed by Michael Claxton and Richard Clark, the business specialises in manufacturing equipment for installing drainage in golf courses, football pitches etc. suffering from excessive waterlogging. In addition to selling and hiring equipment in the UK, the company exports machinery to mainland Europe, Scandinavia, America, Australia and New Zealand

So effective is their machinery for draining amenity grass that they have been approached by agricultural businesses to provide a cost-effective solution to install drainage systems on farm land.

The Challenge

Since purchasing the business in 2013 from David Shelton, its original founder, Richard and Michael have planned to build a new machine capable of placing aggregates precisely into trenches when installing drainage in turf playing surfaces. Having designed the six-tonne universal machine they then turned their attention to building a fully functioning prototype with the view of launching it in the market and realising sales in the second quarter of 2018. Their challenge now was to raise the funds to finance the building and testing of the prototype

The Solution

After a brief phone conversation with the Grants4Growth team in Spalding, Michael and Richard were visited by a Business Advisor who talked them through the application form and helped them outline the business case for the investment. Two weeks after submitting their grant application they received confirmation that a grant of £8,903, towards the cost of building their new prototype machine, had been awarded. Having now built the prototype Shelton have already been approached by potential buyers which fills them with confidence for a full production run later this year.

What's Next?

Shelton Sportsturf Drainage now has its sights set on improving the company's Head Office and is making plans to move into a new office suite containing a client meeting and presentation room. With the development of the six-tonne universal machine the business is well placed to achieve its year end turnover target of £1.8 million, which represents a 28% increase on the previous year.