by business editor Trevor Sturgess

G-Forces, a web design and management company, is celebrating 10 years in business by unveiling plans to create 50 new jobs.

Based in Bearsted, near Maidstone, the
business has grown rapidly through its expertise in designing
websites for a wide range of clients, but specifically the
automotive industry. Clients include leading car dealerships.

The firm plans to extend its offices
and double the existing 56-strong workforce over the next two
years.

During a lively anniversary event
attended by 300 guests and featuring displays by vintage RAF
Hurricane and Spitfire aircraft, sales director Jamie Dixon said
the expansion plan would focus on training young people.

“If we recruit locally, people are more
likely to stay with us because there’s a real skills shortage in
the area,” he said.

G-Forces was founded in 1999 by Giles
Smith and began trading from a converted barn. It later moved to
College Road, Maidstone, before creating its own headquarters at
Corbin Business Park - opened two years ago and named after local
Spitfire pilot Jimmy Corbin.

Turnover has risen to around £3m.
Commercial director Tim Smith said: “It’s extremely gratifying not
only to have survived this long, but to have established G-Forces
as a major player in the UK’s competitive web sector.

“It is essential that we continue to
take the lead in web management and our plans for yet more growth
will ensure that the business has solid foundations on which to
build for future success.”