An aluminium installation company has increased turnover while establishing a more inclusive working environment after an executive member of staff completed a course at Cardiff Business School.
Dudley’s Aluminium Ltd, based in Cardiff has achieved more than £2 million turnover growth and increased the size of its team by 20 per cent since commercial director Steve Muir took part in the course following a management buyout of the firm.
“The management buy-out gave Dudley’s a fresh impetus and we wanted to explore how we can make the business bigger and better,” Steve said.
“So being able to pick the brains of other business owners was so beneficial to us.”
The course Steve took combines online and face-to-face sessions programmed around existing work commitments.
Turnover at Dudley’s has increased from £12.3 million in 2021 to £14.1 million in 2025, a change that Steve says he attributes to the support he gained from the course.
“I was interested in the way businesses pivoted during the pandemic and adapted to a new way of thinking outside of the box,” Steve said.
“Since coming back from the course, we’ve begun taking on more work which has been great for our reputation because we’ve become more accommodating for new businesses and increased our annual turnover.”
Steve said that aside from the financial benefits, the company has made improvements to its culture. The new management team made a concerted effort to break down divisions between teams, making changes to everything from increased flexibility in working hours, to equality in coffee and tea provision.
“People in the office have only got a job because the people on the factory floor produce such good quality goods,” Steve said.
“And the people on the factory floor have only got a job because the people in the office do their job well, so we're hand in hand. We've just tried to break down all of those divides and make it a unified sort of office factory culture where everybody feels equal to everybody else. There's no division.”
Linda Hellard, Business Manager for Executive Education at Cardiff Business School, said:
“It’s excellent to hear that a Cardiff-based business has seen such encouraging growth and improvement in its working culture as a result of support from one of our courses.
“At Cardiff Business School, we’re proud to support professionals at every stage of their journey. Our short courses are designed to give fresh perspectives on business and management issues, and we can also create bespoke programmes tailored to your organisation. There’s always something relevant and thought-provoking, delivered by academics working at the forefront of their fields. We’d encourage anyone to explore our website, see what’s on offer, and join our business community.”
