Celebrating 30 years in business

BCC IT celebrates its 30th year in business this year in supporting hundreds of clients from almost every commercial sector in Wales, England and Ireland.  Our client base, to name a few, includes Princes Gates, Wales Co-Op, John Francis, Cambrian Pet Food, Ocean Homes, Rhyal Engineering and Vale Holiday Parks.

The business is steered by Directors Hywel Ifans and Steven Mason.  Hywel joined the company in 1997 as the Technical Manager and moved to the position of Director in 2002.  Steve joined in 1999 as an Account Manager and accepted directorship in 2013.

Hywel Ifans, Managing Director explained,

“BCC IT had humble beginnings in 1987, operating from Blaenachddu Farm as Blaenachddu Computer Centre. In the 90s growth by referral and reputation saw BCC IT become the largest computer services supplier in West Wales.

2002 saw the most significant step in BCC IT’s history, a strategy change saw them shift focus almost entirely to the business segment after securing exclusive premises that included Technical Workshops and a Helpdesk facility. This fresh approach went hand-in-hand with a name change to BCC IT Solutions – although this didn’t mean a shift away from the Welsh language as BCC IT continue to provide bilingual support today.

We maintained the ‘referral & reputation’ approach to acquiring new business throughout these transitional years and saw steady growth even through the economic downturn of the late 00's. During this time  client base expanded to cover new parts of the UK, including organisations of various sizes in almost every commercial sector.

In a recent strategic advancement, BCC IT doubled the size of its premises and adopted a new marketing plan to supplement the continually successful ‘referral & reputation’ policy. Dropping ‘Solutions’ from the trading name marked a new era for BCC IT; in which an emphasis was placed on consolidating the BCC IT brand and presenting the Company with a presence that reflects the values that have been so painstakingly constructed over the years. This new approach ensures BCC IT can continue helping businesses realise their visions and goals for years to come.”

Information technology is an integral part to many businesses these days, and keeping up with the continual IT developments and changes is vital. BCC IT are proud to say in the past few decades they have been the peace of mind to so many businesses and organisations, so that their clients can focus on their business and have helped increase business efficiency, performance and profit by ensuring IT has a positive effect on their business.

The company is integral part of its local community, providing jobs and supporting many grassroots sports clubs, projects, charities and community organisations: the lifeblood of sport and recreation across the county.

Steve, who is responsible for the sponsorships explained,

“Last year, we had an office refit and saw this as the perfect opportunity for BCC IT to create a focal point at our headquarters’ meeting room to illustrate the company’s values and to provide recognition of the sponsorship of grassroots sports clubs, projects and talent we are pleased to support, as well as highlighting the current wide geographic area the company covers, supporting not only businesses in Wales but many others throughout the M4, M5 and M6 corridors.

Rhiannon Roberts of Rhiannon Art, a local artist, was commissioned to create and paint a bright ‘live’ community wall mural to illustrate the sponsored local talent, such as record holding Carmarthen cyclist Scott Davies, who rides for Team Wiggins; European Junior Tour golfer Dion Regan, Aiden Jones; U21 Wales Ski Team, 13 years old junior sailor Aled Llewellyn-Jones who sails for the GB Topper class and many other grassroots sports clubs. This is a working wall mural, in the sense that new additions will be made to it on an ongoing basis.”

Hywel is a regular contributor to Welsh language broadcasts including S4C’s ‘Prynhawn Da’ and ‘Heno’ programmes as well as Radio Cymru’s ‘Taro’r Post’ and ‘Post Prynhawn’ news-based shows providing industry-specific guidance and information. In addition, gives some of his time to be a Big Ideas Wales Role Model, a Welsh Government project designed to inspire the next generation of entrepreneurs in Wales.

“I describe myself as just a guy with very few qualifications who worked through the ranks grabbing every opportunity to become a proud business owner and employer and honoured to be an entrepreneurial role model instilling self-belief, confidence and positive-business-thinking in young people, whilst also frequently gaining as much, or more inspiration in return.”

Steve concluded,

“It is a great honour to support so many businesses, from those based in rural locations to towns and cities and to help keep them operational. For the future, we are looking at developing the team further and to look into opening new offices in Wales and further afield.

To commemorate our 30th year milestone, a commemorative information folder has been designed and printed to go to the public showcasing the colourful community wall mural and the work we do.”