STL USA

BUILDING THE FUTURE ENERGY WORKFORCE

background

Safety Technology USA (STL USA) started life as a project to service European clients operating in the US, delivered by Safety Technology from the UK. In 2021, DVO were asked to help support the US business interests, and a plan was created to drive growth in Texas and across North America. Since then, Safety Technology UK was acquired (2022), and STL USA has gone on to develop into one of the premier training and workforce development providers in North America. This growth has been spearheaded by Ben Dickens, who, since the acquisition, has been embedded as CEO and has overseen developments across operations, facilities, services and digital. This has also included the creation of a subsidiary, Field Pro Tech and the development of an overarching strategy to take the business through continued growth to 2030 and beyond.

ChallEnge

STL USA operated in a fast-growing, highly regulated safety-training market where credibility, up-to-hands practical delivery and a clear digital presence are determinative for winning large corporate contracts and placements. The organisation faced multiple, linked challenges:

Fragmented brand identity and inconsistent client-facing messaging that limited corporate sales and tender success.
Underdeveloped digital & social presence that reduced discoverability for both corporate clients and learners.
Limited commercial diversification — training delivery was the core offering but there were missed opportunities for recurring revenue (merch, products, staffing services).
Need to scale business operations and sales while maintaining high training standards and compliance with industry accreditations.

The solution

DVO delivered an embedded, CEO-level turnaround and a full commercial build-out, operating as STL USA’s executive team and marketing engine.

Executive embedding & ops overhaul

Ben Dickens was embedded as CEO to provide unified leadership, remove silos between training, sales and operations, and implement business KPIs and compliance workflows. This allowed rapid decision-making across product, pricing and delivery.

Complete rebrand & brand architecture

- Strategic repositioning: updated brand purpose, messaging hierarchy for corporate vs. learner audiences, new visual identity and refreshed trade name/markets where required.
- Staff and partner roll-out training ensured consistent external representation — a recognised best practice when launching a rebrand.
Full digital transformation
- New website architecture with clear conversion funnels for course bookings, corporate tenders and B2B procurement pathways; SEO migration to protect domain authority during rebrand.
- Implementation of an LMS + CRM integration to centralise learner data, automate reminders/certification renewals and enable cross-sell (merchandise, advanced courses).
Social media, content & thought leadership
- Ongoing content calendar: technical how-to videos, instructor spotlights, safety case studies, employer testimonials.
- Use of short-form video and organic + paid social to target HR/procurement teams and frontline technicians.
Merchandise, product sales & new sub-business launches
- Launched branded merchandise and a product line (PPE, learning aids) integrated into the website checkout and course bundles.
- Created two new commercial units: recruitment & hiring services focused on placing trained technicians, and a product sales channel for recurring revenue and higher lifetime-value per learner.
Go-to-market & client retention
- Bundled corporate training packages and employer partnerships (competency assessments + bespoke onsite training) to capture larger accounts and recurring contracts.
- Built measurement: ARR, course bookings, corporate contract value, time-to-hire via recruitment arm, and retention of repeat training clients.

Results

Alongside operational changes a key focus has been on sales performance.

10x in four years

Starting around $500,000 annual turnover STL USA now exceeds $5million per annum.

Growth in people and culture

A team of 3 is now a team of 25, with a clearly defined purpose and a commitment to quality and leadership.

Next steps

STL USA has evolved from training provider to strategic workforce development partner in the last 4 years. The next phase of growth will see an evolution of existing products and services connected through a common workforce visibility platform.

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Client feedback

“STL USA is the fastest growing company in the Cresto Group, with a dedicated team that will make STL USA the foremost worforce perforamnce partner for energy in the coming years.”

Patrik Materling

CEO Cresto Group