Shredbank is an on-site mobile document shredding company that is controlled and managed by Philip Bain and James Carson

. Philip believes that document destruction has a key role to play in improving corporate security and the fight against the growing problem of identity fraud.

What has been the highlight for your company to date?

We have performed well over the recession period and we have secured many contracts both in the public and private sector. Demand for a professional and secure on-site document destruction service has increased due to the growth of identity fraud and, with the Data Protection Act 1998, there is an ever-increasing need for businesses to ensure they are both legally and environmentally compliant.

We have had many significant achievements over the last few years and have been shortlisted for four national and local business awards. We also won the Northern Ireland Chamber of Commerce Most Promising New Business Award. Securing a two- year contract with Belfast Metropolitan College at the early stages in our company’s growth has also been significant.

What are the long term hopes for the business?

Our aim is to be the leading on-site document destruction company in Northern Ireland and for our leadership in the industry to be seen through our continuous innovation in technology, marketing, and customer service excellence.

We believe strongly in being actively involved in the community. Our focus will be in supporting three areas — environmental awareness, local entrepreneurship and data security. Environmental awareness will be supported through our annual nationwide schools competition with the local primary schools. Local entrepreneurship will be supported through our continued work with Young Enterprise. We will also raise awareness of data security through shredding events for the general public.

Why is what your company does important and what role does it play in the overall fight against fraud?

ID fraud is one of the largest crimes in the UK costing £2bn to the economy. ShredBank eliminates the risk of fraud when it comes to data disposal. In every organisation there is a responsibility on the owners and management to destroy their confidential material in a secure way.

If documents are taken away from the client’s premises to be destroyed, the client is still liable for the documents, unless otherwise stated in the contract, until the documents have been destroyed at the shredding plant.

With ShredBank we destroy everything at the client’s premises using our own mobile shredding trucks. Therefore, there is no risk of information being lost in transit.

Is the document destruction field a competitive one?

The document destruction industry is highly competitive with very high entry costs and a number of very strong multi-national competitors. As with most industries, the recession has added to the competitive pressures. Given that the average cost of our service is inexpensive, it takes time and resources to build up the business.

Do you see scope for diversification into other areas of information security?

Google’s philosophy is ‘we do search’ and ShredBank’s philosophy is ‘we do shredding’. We want to focus on one thing and do |it well.

Do you do much work outside of Northern Ireland and are you looking to expand into other markets?

We currently want to remain focused on the Northern Ireland market. Our plans are to expand our geographical reach but the recession has hit other regions quite hard and we want to be cautious in our expansion plans.

What technology are you harnessing to improve business?

We use a company which is the world leader in mobile shredding technology.

The shredders that they supply have been designed to offer maximum throughput and speed, which ensures increased cost effectiveness for our clients.

Recession is a challenge for businesses but it can also help companies emerge stronger when growth returns. Have you identified any positives?

The marketing and public relations budget is the first casualty during a recession but our |strategy has been to increase marketing activity and this has increased our market share and helped position us as a major on-site shredding provider in Northern Ireland. The recession has also made us think carefully about cost control and getting more value for our money when making purchases.

Have you any new projects in the pipeline?

We are currently developing our Shredathon brand, where we provide free shredding services to the general public in order to raise awareness of ID Fraud and the importance of securely disposing confidential material. We ran the first Shredathon this year at Hezlett Primary School which was the winner of our recycling competition for primary schools. We intend to run more Shredathons across the province and we hope this will become a main feature in the Northern Ireland calendar.

What has been the highlight of your own career to date?

Launching and running ShredBank with my friend and business partner, James Carson.

What is the best bit of advice you have ever been given?

Have a passion for excellence, stay focused and make sure you have a strong business model.