Aberdeen-based Tricore Ltd, a specialist in the supply and refurbishment of industrial drill bits, has become Scotland’s latest employee-owned business.

Established in 1987 by Greg Henderson and Bill Bowie, the company provides a refurbishment service for roller-cone drill bits for use in the oil and gas, construction, HDD (horizontal direction drilling) and mining industries.

The firm has overhauled thousands of units for North Sea drilling operations from its facility on the Blackburn Industrial Estate, which is currently the largest bit refurbishment and maintenance facility in the UK. After the death of Mr Henderson, the company reviewed it ownership structure.

Operations manager Wallace Hay said (www.tricore.co.uk): “We had to come up with a structure that allowed equity to be released to Greg’s estate and Bill to retire but also ensured the future security of the company and safeguarded jobs.

"Many options were considered, but when our accountants suggested employee ownership, we soon realised that it ticked all of our boxes.

"It protects the ethos of the company and the existing team, as well as providing a satisfactory solution for the previous owners.

“Protecting jobs was an extremely important factor in our decision. Many employees have been with us for over 20 years and have played a vital role in the growth and success of Tricore.

"Moving into employee ownership gives job certainty to everyone who works here and enables them to have control of their future.

"Although they were initially surprised, the staff are now very excited about the opportunities it will bring and have very much embraced the concept.

"Our new structure will also provide clarity over roles and the opportunity for the team to improve current working practices.”

Statistics show that employee-owned businesses consistently out-perform others in terms of profitability, increased productivity and enhanced employee wellbeing, as well as improved business resilience during times of recession.

There are now around 110 employee-owned companies operating in Scotland, with about 7,500 employee-owners and a combined turnover of around £950 million.