Member Article

Cotswold Manufacturing to grow following major investment

A Teesside door manufacturer is looking to double its turnover within two years after expanding into new premises following a £750k investment.

Cotswold Manufacturing Ltd, based on Teesside Industrial Estate, in Thornaby, has already taken on 14 new staff after developing its own door manufacturing centre.

The firm, which has been established eight years and employs 52 people, moved to its current premises three years ago and has expanded into a next door factory, increasing its floorspace by 29,000 sq feet to 82,000.

The manufacturing centre means the business can now produce its sought after timber doorsets and screens for residential and commercial sectors, such as schools, hospitals and offices, on site.

Sales of the doorsets for October were up by £100k year-on-year and the firm is on target to see last year’s £5 million turnover grow to £8 million this year with a forecast of £10 million the following year.

The move came after Ken Napper, the firm’s director, identified an opportunity for the business to manufacture its own doors instead of buying them in. Manufacturing on site means the firm can maintain its high levels of quality throughout the finished product.

Accountants and business advisers, Clive Owen & Co in Darlington, helped Mr Napper progress the idea and the company, which advises a vast amount of the region’s manufacturers on strategic issues, responded with a detailed financial forecast to support the project.

Mr Napper said: “I’m very excited about our recent developments. Our business is going from strength to strength now and we’ll be definitely taking on more staff next year because of the way business has picked up. Being able to make the whole product under one roof has given us greater control in many aspects of the business. The move has reshaped us and strengthened our plans for continued development.

“Clive Owen & Co has been with us through all of our progress and their expertise has been crucial. In particular, getting the forecasts ready for the manufacturing centre so promptly and thoroughly has undoubtedly made a difference to the outcome of the project.”

John Davison, associate director of business planning at Clive Owen & Co LLP said: “We’ve enjoyed working with Ken and the team at Cotswold on this project. To create a new manufacturing centre was certainly a bold move but we knew Ken and his team would make it successful.

“We wanted to ensure we helped get all the figures in place and prepared a clear cash flow analysis so that Ken could ensure he had financial support to help him move forward. It’s great to now see the results of those efforts.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Tom Keighley .