Trans-Sport TV
6 September 2024
Sector: Event Management
Location: Bassetlaw
Trans-Sport.TV is a second-generation family business operating in the media events industry, predominately in live broadcast, for the last 30 years.
It provides event infrastructure and support services that include design and manufacture, entertainment rigging, storage and transport, and temporary broadcast structures.
Based in Nottinghamshire the business is proud of its heritage and is the contractor of choice for the BBC Events Team covering Royal and parliamentary events. Other customers include Matchroom, IMG, PDC and WST.
The company has grown organically from a man and a van to today where it has two sites and employs 40 people. The business strapline is ‘Our clients choose the venue, provide the talent and we take care of the rest’.
Challenges faced
During the Covid pandemic Trans-Sport.TV drew on its manufacturing capability by modifying broadcast trucks and studios to provide safe working environments for their clients which meant the ‘show could go on’.
The business worked closely with the Department for Digital Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) for test events proving its capability to flex to whatever the world wanted to throw at it. The company also provided a bespoke manufacturing service for Covid screens to help keep everyone safe (once they’d managed to secure Pet 2 plastic!)
More recently, with the increased cost of raw materials, lack of vehicle and equipment stock, rising energy costs and a world post-Brexit, entering and exiting global event locations is a daily challenge.
Managing Director, Rosie Cope comments: “The biggest challenge to date would be around our people – recruiting and retaining staff, which we probably share with all businesses throughout the UK. Getting and retaining the competitive advantage, whether that’s via our people or processes is a constant challenge for our executive team.”
Solution and Impact
The business heard about the Accelerator Project from Bassetlaw District Council. Accelerator is funded through the Council’s share of the UK Prosperity Fund (UKSPF) and delivered by East Midlands Chamber.
At the start of the year Trans-Sport.TV successfully accessed a Growth Grant from the Council to purchase 20x steel mesh-sided stillages (a type of pallet) used to store material stock rented to clients. These brought a reduction in loading time and eliminated damage to material stock to improve efficiencies within the storage offer to clients as well as adding value to the business’s offer.
Since then, Trans-Sport.TV has also taken advantage of a free energy audit and grant which funded improvements to its energy efficiencies. Future energy consumption will depend on the growth of the business, but making the move toward electrification of transport, the impact of implementing just two of the suggestions from the recommendations will save the business 10,500kWh per annum. Rosie has been supported by the Chamber’s Head of Business Support Services, Paul Stuart.
She said: “Paul acts as a one-stop shop of signposting and has a wealth of knowledge. He opened conversations with the Made Smarter team who have made such a positive impact on our operational activities not only with their knowledge in manufacturing and how that links into our day-to-day business but also through our successful grant application to implement barcoding which is impacting positively on the efficiency of our operation in Treswell.”
The implementation of barcoding is new technology to Trans-Sport.TV. This initiative ensures improved productivity and increased market share which will positively impact the profitability of the business. The equipment purchase supports the rental of goods which is an identified growth area for the business. It also reduces the amount of time spent using a forklift so cuts diesel emissions and ultimately further reduces its carbon footprint.
The anticipated improvements in delivery performance are from 85% to 99% and Rosie anticipates an increase in turnover of 7% because of this support.
Rosie adds: “Big picture, the project impacts positively on the overall digitalisation strategy for our business which has doubled in size in the past 5 years in sales, people and equipment.”
As a spin-off from this, Trans-Sport.TV’s Operations Manager, Grace Woodhead has been accepted onto Made Smarter’s Leading Digital Transformation Programme at Loughborough University, which is underpinning not only Grace’s personal development but the whole team. Rosie adds: “There is still work to do but with the help and assistance of David Dobson and his colleagues at Made Smarter, we have the momentum to continue to review and Road Map our processes.”
The team at Trans-Sport.TV has also attended several free Accelerator training workshops to support individual and team development. This includes Building a High Performance Team, Getting Started with Leadership & Management, Managing Finance and Recruiting in a Tight Labour Market.
“We are forever grateful for the continued support from organisations such as the Chamber of Commerce, Bassetlaw District Council and the team at Made Smarter.
We came out of Europe unsure as to the complexity and validity of funding streams accessible to the business. We are delighted with the help in tackling real business challenges and the funding available around those issues."
- Rosie Cope, Managing Director
This initiative is funded by the UK Government through the UK Shared Prosperity Fund (UKSPF) and delivered by East Midlands Chamber on behalf of Bassetlaw District Council.
