Exconom is a company specialising in cable and smallbore pipe-laying technology. The company started life as a technical division of a major utility. It gained its independence as the result of a...

Exconom is a company specialising in cable and smallbore pipe-laying technology. The company started life as a technical division of a major utility. It gained its independence as the result of a venture capital backed management buyout (MBO) three years ago. The company now has 21 employees and a turnover of just over £4 million. The company’s competitive edge comes from its technological capabilities with ‘mole’ excavating tools. This is equipment that can lay cables and pipes underground without the need to dig a trench first. This reduces cost and disruption. Exconom contracts its services to companies which need to lay cables. Electrical and gas utilities provide the core of business. This business is largely based on historical relationships with these customers developed prior to the MBO. Marketing activities are limited. An as yet small but high-growth sector which is expected to be important in the future is cable television, though the company has not won any contracts here yet.