Zipline Creative of New Tredegar has a fast first year

A NEW TREDEGAR multimedia company is experiencing rapid growth a year after being launched, with clients including luxury car maker Aston Martin.

Zipline Creative was established by former BBC employees Rhys Waters and Nathan Mackintosh and has already expanded into new premises on the New Tredegar Business Park as demand for its high-performance video production continues to grow beyond expectations.

The 24-year-old graduates, who met while studying at Newport University and were approached to work for the BBC during their final year, have already worked on video sequences for elite car manufacturers Aston Martin, the BBC, the Institute for Advanced Broadcasting and Caerphilly Borough Council.

The pair have just returned from filming in the South of France, where Aston Martin asked them to film the unveiling and performance testing of the new 24-hour performance car at the legendary Le Mans racetrack – the result of which will feature on the website and in all showrooms throughout Europe.

Mr Waters said: “The demand for our services and subsequent rapid growth this year has far surpassed all our expectations for the first 12 months.

“Looking back at our business plan for year one, we were naively optimistic but we have still surpassed our figure for anticipated income by 10%.

“We launched the business after much thought and after being made really aware that the kind of thing that we could offer was simply not available to the high technical standards now required for broadcasting and online production.

“Starting out and setting up in my father’s garage was daunting, but after only six months we needed to be somewhere bigger where we could fully utilise the range of advanced equipment that we work with.

“Now our premises are among only a small few that include on-site studios and state-of-the- art green screen equipment.”

The successful partnership now has its sights set on several new contracts that could fully exploit the capabilities of the company, but at the same time the duo are keen to pass on the lessons they have learned to local youngsters.

The company has already gone into local schools to teach aspiring youngsters about film production and producing for the internet.

Mr Mackintosh said: “We were given a superb opportunity to learn at a young age and are now grateful for that chance as our business grows. Young people obtain the information that they need in a very different way to the standard methods that older generations were used to.

“They are more aware of how the online media, social networking sites and online channels work, so if we can educate them to safely and professionally work with these, then they will have additional skills for the future.”

Acting Caerphilly Business Forum chairman Dave Bevan said: “Zipline Creative and the team behind it are an excellent example of the calibre of talent and aspiration that is evident among businesses in Caerphilly County Borough.”

Click