Daval finds an edge

Mar 25 2008 by Henryk Zientek, Huddersfield Daily Examiner

Daval finds an edge

A FAMILY firm making and supplying fitted furniture has invested £1.5m to achieve an industry first.

Slaithwaite-based Daval has launched Option-I, a new software system that handles all aspects of a customer’s order – from placing the order to packaging and dispatching the finished product.

The system – the first of its kind in the UK – also allows customers to specify a much wider range of colours, styles and finishes when they select the company’s fitted bedrooms, kitchens, bathrooms and home office furniture.

Chairman David Bodsworth said the new system enabled Daval to meet demand for tailor-made and one-off furniture quickly – turning an order around in just three weeks – and put the firm at the forefront of the industry.

It also meant the company could operate “just in time” – negating the need for large stocks which could end up left on the shelves if fashions and tastes change.

Said Mr Bodsworth: “It is a design-led system. We have developed the software over the past two years to bring the flexibility which our customers, the independent retailers, require to meet the demands of their customers.

“Most producers are sourcing from China where they can achieve volume at a competitive price. But choice is restricted and we did not feel that route was the right one for our market, which is one where customers want something unique.

“The software allows us to take all the items we make – wardrobes, drawers, doors, desks and so on – and specify colour, design, shape, height, width and depth. It means we can respond quickly to demand and changing fashion. If everyone suddenly wants ‘black’ tomorrow, we can do it.”

Mr Bodsworth said the market was ready for a system that could produce customised designer furniture using mass production methods at high street prices.

He said: “People are spending more social time in the home, entertaining guests. They want their lifestyle to be reflected in the way they decorate and furnish their home. As house prices rise, fewer people are looking to move house, so they are improving their properties instead – and investing in the way their home looks.”

The company’s own investment in Option-I follows a period of steady expansion since its move to Spa Field Mills from Queen’s Mill Road, Huddersfield, seven year ago.

Daval spent £4m on the move – kitting out the former Drakes polypropylene factory with new offices, a manufacturing facility and showroom.

Mr Bodsworth set up business in 1977 to produce furniture under the name David Bodsworth Furniture Manufacturers. By the late 1980s, he had rebranded as Daval, employing 14 people and supplying local bedroom retailers throughout West Yorkshire.

The company now has 100 employees and supplies about 150 retailers across the UK – from Scotland to the south coast and from Ireland to the Channel Isles.