Symm Group management have been so surprised at the depth of feeling about the winding down of APS Masonry (see earlier story 'APS to close workshop after 200 years') that they have amended their decision.

The workshops in Osney Mead, Oxfordshire, will now remain open and APS Masonry will continue in its traditional role as a producer and fixer of masonry, albeit with a slimmed down workforce and making more use of the central administrative and contractual roles of the Symm Group.

Symm Group had announced that APS, with a provenance dating back to 1815, were to end most of their activities in the stone industry, retaining only a consultancy and management service while closing down the workshops and losing most of the 20 jobs in the company as well as the machinery in the well-equipped workshops.

Aidan Mortimer, Chief Executive of the Symm Group, told NSS: “It surprised me, the depth of feeling about the quality of what APS do, the longevity of the business and the loss it would represent to what isn’t a large sector. There was a considerable response from architects, clients and others in the stone industry to our announcement.

“There was a lot of positive comment about the business and there has been a huge amount of positive comment about us continuing.”

APS Masonry (the full name of the company is Axtell Perry Symm Masonry Ltd) have invested substantially in modern machinery, including a hefty Brembana G-Rex CNC workcentre and a new BM saw they bought only last year. It is a capability those in the stone industry and beyond expressed a reluctance to lose.

APS have always made their mechanisation available to other masonry companies and conversations with other stone companies resulting from the proposal to shut down the workshops have led Aidan to the conclusion that there are opportunities for more co-operation and sharing of resources within the sector. The slimmed down operation will also be able to take on smaller projects profitably.

“There are a handful of small projects that now fit with this leaner approach,” he told NSS. “That, coupled with prospects that have come about now that might not have done if we hadn’t been on that route to closure, have brought us to this conclusion to keep the workshops open.”

APS Managing Director Jonathan Grayburn will be among those leaving the business, which will in future be headed by Steve Byrne, a Symm Group Project Manager. He can be contacted on Tel: 01865 254600 and Email: steve@apsmasonry.com. The full range of craft and technical skills previously available from APS will be retained.

In a statement, APS say they have “the capability and production capacity to undertake a wide range of stonemasonry projects from repairs, paving and one-off items through to complete major buildings”. They would be delighted to hear from anyone who needs those services.