There has never been a better time to be in the care industry.

It may be tied up in regulation and face recruitment and skills issues, but the sector never lacks demand and can offer reasonable returns for well-managed businesses.

"The economy has been going down and down but we are growing and growing," says Mary Becket, a director of Beech Tree Total Care.

The Margate-based enterprise - a Kent Business Award winner in 2007, a finalist in the inaugural Kent Excellence in Business (KEiBA) Awards, and Home Care Business of the Year in the Ceretas National Home Care Awards 2009 - is recognised for the quality of its care to people in their own homes.

The company cares for the elderly and adults with disabilities in Margate, Broadstairs, Ramsgate, Sandwich, Westgate, Birchington, Cliftonville, St Nicholas and throughout Thanet.

It has special expertise in caring for people with Alzheimer's,
Judges of the Ceretas award said they were impressed by the company's passion and commitment to excellent service, and its responsiveness to demand by developing new and high quality training modules.

Beech Tree's origins go back more than 20 years but it was in 2006 that the present business was formed by Mrs Becket and Sam West.

Since then, it has earned a reputation for the quality of its work, in particular the way it cares for dementia sufferers and others with challenging conditions.

As people are living longer, dementia is becoming a more common condition. It is even affecting younger people, including those with alcohol-induced dementia.

The business employs some 72 people, with training a key part of the operation. Mrs Becket said: "We're not nurses, we are carers but we are working opposite practice care teams. We are assisting people that have been in hospital."

The company wins awards, she says, because "we go the extra mile, Our carers care. If you're going to do a job, you do it properly".

Beech Tree is keen to innovate and this includes equipping every carer with a Personal Digital Assistant (PDA) - or palmtop computer- to record call data. It features a panic button if the carer needs help.

Revenue is a key issue. With many clients on low incomes and subsidised by the council, it is hard for Beech Tree to crank up turnover substantially.

The answer is to attract more private clients who are above the asset threshold for taxpayer help. Beech Tree currently has around 60 in this category.

"If we can establish dementia care for wealthy people, we can charge more," says Mr West. He would like to see his client list consisting of two thirds public funded, and one third private-funded.

Looking ahead, Mr West expects Beech Tree to be twice its present size within five years, with turnover doubled to £2 million and staff numbers up to 150.

But he recognises that a mistake or a headline-grabbing failure can cost a lot in the care industry.
"It takes a long time to build up a reputation and only a very little thing can knock you down," he says.

Care sector growth is also limited by skills availability.

Caring for people, many with dementia, is not the most popular of occupations, although many staff have a real vocation for work that, while challenging and not well paid, can be highly satisfying.
Churn rate in the sector is high and at 25 per cent Beech Tree's is no different.

Becket and West love the work. "It is the satisfaction of doing something properly at the expense of profit," they say. "We never close, people rely on their carers and they make a difference to the vulnerable."