A place in the Hot 100 for SUMO Wrexham

SUMO Wrexham has been chosen as one of the Wales Hot 100, a list of the hottest new ventures in Wales.

The list, which is put together by the Western Mail in association with the National Entrepreneurship Observatory for Wales, aims to highlight some of the most exciting businesses in Wales by identifying the fastest growing start-ups.

In 2003 Russ Sampson opened SUMO Wrexham, a regional franchise of SUMO, who specialise in underground utility detection services.

“It is brilliant to be listed as one of the Hottest 100 ventures in Wales, we have grown so quickly since the start-up and it is great to see our name on the list.”

Using the latest technologies including ground-penetrating radar (GPR), SUMO surveyors can detect all types of underground service.

“Anyone involved in digging a hole runs the enormous risk of damaging buried utility services – at best receiving a costly repair bill, at worst costing a life. But with the SUMO service all types of underground utility can be detected before any digging takes place,” said Russ.

Operating a regional franchise has certainly led to strong growth for Russ’s business: “Having the SUMO team to take care of routine administration is great for me – I am free to focus on serving my customers, generating sales and getting out and promoting the service.

“This approach has really worked for me, I have built up the business and I am now looking at expanding and offering new services,” said Russ.

SUMO has won two national awards in 2006 and has worked on many prestigious construction sites across the UK including large town centre regeneration projects, new hospitals and major road building schemes.

Recent sites surveyed across the UK include St John’s Shopping Centre in Liverpool, Birmingham New Hospitals project and High Wycombe town regeneration.