Member Article

New launches and investment light the way for growth at County Durham company

Newton Aycliffe-based fireplace manufacturers, CVO Fire, are on track to grow sales by 20% in 2015 thanks to investment in new product designs and improved IT systems, combined with continued growth in demand for fireplaces.

Over the summer, the company invested heavily in new accounting, CRM and manufacturing systems which have increased manufacturing efficiency and boosted sales.

To satisfy increasing demand for energy efficient products as people continually look to save money on heating bills, CVO Fire has designed seven new CE approved glass fronted gas fires which will meet stricter building codes.

These new products were recently launched at the Homebuilding Exhibition in London.

The business’s growth is being further boosted thanks to a number of custom made designs installed in hotels, bars and restaurants. CVO has recently designed fires for the Daily Mail House of the Year in London, a fireplace for the reception of the exclusive apartments at Henry Moore Court in Chelsea, central London and the luxury Carbis Bay Hotel in St Ives.

In addition, CVO’s directors have also created a new company, YumaGold. This business will sell other heating and fire-related products, such as bio-ethanol and electric fires as well as fireplace accessories, from its Newton Aycliffe base to enable them to enter new markets.

Managers at CVO Fire are now also working on extending their supplier network into USA markets, with a number of distribution channels earmarked for 2015. The company will be selling its range of ribbon fires through specially-selected distributors in the country.

MD of CVO Fire, Andrew Munro, said: “It’s a very buoyant marketplace at the moment as homeowners are looking to invest and property companies are building again following a post-recession slump. These markets are really boosting our sales as well as extensive projects in the hospitality sector, both in the UK and abroad”

“We’ve invested in new systems and are already seeing a return on that as efficiency has massively improved, meaning greater output and more fires being manufactured in a shorter space of time”

Financial director of CVO Fire, Christine McLoughlin, said: “The launch of the new YumaGold brand is also very exciting as it means we can offer new products to a wider market. This will mean expanding our manufacturing base in the North East.”

Since 2010, output at CVO Fires has increased by around 40%, bucking the general trend in the manufacturing sector. The company employs a team of 16 and it is hoped this number will increase with the expansion in sales and new products.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Anna Addison Associates .