Scotland’s leading disaster recovery firm is marking the launch a new Scottish office with a high-profile appointment.

FFDR, an all trades contractor specialising in salvaging flood and fire-ravaged properties has attracted respected insurance expert Kenny King to head its north east operation.

Father of two Kenny, 46, from Bridge of Don, has spent the past eight years working with a nationwide facilities services group, assessing insurance cases.

He will now be based in FFDR’s newly-opened Stonehaven office, and will recruit a team of 12 tradesmen within months, and up to 25 within a year.

Ronnie Klos, 42, founder and managing director of Fife-based FFDR, said: “Persuading someone of Kenny’s calibre to join us is a clear signal of our intent.

“He is extremely well known and well-respected in the sector and I believe we’ve found the ideal person to build a team of the very best local talent.”

A Career Worthy of Scottish PR Coverage

The move has also delighted Kenny, a former pupil of Aberdeen’s Summerhill Academy, who started his career as a decorator with respected Aberdeen firm, James Clark.

He later worked for himself, before moving into a management role as an insurance assessor with Circle Britannia, covering the north east.

He said: “I knew FFDR by reputation and was impressed by how dynamic it is. This company isn’t interested in standing still and is always looking for new ways to develop and improve.

“There is no doubt a lot of business to be won in this area for a company which can supply the best tradesmen at competitive price while remaining reliable.

“FFDR’s success is built on treating property owner respectfully and ensuring repair work is well-managed, neat and completed on time.

“The insurance companies also appreciate our fast response times and the fact all of our work is carried out by quality trades people.”

Klos says a key to FFDR’s success is that all the trades experts it uses are employed by the company and FFDR has an excellent staff retention record.

He added: “We only use two sub-contractors – a glazer and a blacksmith. Both of them have been working with us for 10 years or more.

“Bringing in the right quality of staff will be just as crucial to our success in Aberdeen and Kenny is the ideal person to make sure we attract the most talented people in the area.”

Opening the Stonehaven office represents a £300,000 investment by FFDR which now operates across the UK with 100 staff and a fleet of 77 vehicles.

Klos added: “I have been amazed by the amount of work coming in to us in the Aberdeen area. We currently have around 20 of our staff in the area on any given day anyway, so it makes sense to set up a proper base here.

“This year we expect to see our turnover increase from £5.5million to £7million and the growth in the north east will be an important part of that.”

Since it was created in 1996 FFDR has built success on long-term relationships with major insurance and loss adjusting experts.

In the north east those include contracts with Royal Bank of Scotland, Lloyds Banking Group, Multiassistance, Merlin Professional Claims Services, Lanes Assistance and Tradesmen Solutions.

Press release issued on behalf of FFDR by the Holyrood PR.