Taylor & Lodge
A famous name in textiles is taking British cloth to customers around the world.
Taylor & Lodge (Huddersfield) Ltd enjoys a reputation built over 100 years of experience supplying 100% British cloth to clients in the UK, Europe, Japan, China and the Middle East – with 50% of its worsted fabric being exported.
The company, which is based at Rashcliffe Mills, Lockwood and employs 68 staff also has plans to increase turnover significantly by exporting to markets including Western Europe, South Korea, China, India and Russia.
Early last year, the Shandong Ruyi Technology Group embarked on a joint venture with Bulmer & Lumb to invest in Taylor & Lodge (Huddersfield) Ltd to enable the company to meet the challenges of the new millennium and further strengthen the renowned global brand.
Since then, Taylor & Lodge has refurbished its yarn and fabric testing facilities, invested in new equipment, developed a quality control system and export packing facility and create d a state-of-the-art website.
Mill manager Jeff Heppenstall said the company was focusing on purchasing new looms to improve production, attending key industry shows such as Premiere Vision in Paris, Milano Muca in Italy, the Chinese international textile exhibition in Shanghai and the Tokyo trade exhibition in Japan.
He said: “We continue to employ professional talent to work for us. Eight employees have joined us in the past year and we plan to employe eight more in the following one to two years.”
Over the next 12 months, the company aims to develop new wool collections following market research into new trends in the worsted fabric field.
Lifterz
It’s a company reaching the dizzy heights of success.
Lifterz Ltd specialises in getting people to high places safely.
The company, which employs 63 people, runs a fleet of 830 working platforms that provide a safe means of access – whether to change a light bulb or reach the top of a high rise building.
The company, which began trading in 2007, also provides a maintenance and testing service for clients who have their own platforms. It provides customers with a free site survey to assess their needs and ensure they are fully compliant with safety legislation by having the right tool for each job.
Lifterz operates from depots in Yorkshire, Lancashire and the East Midlands.
Chairman and joint managing director Malcolm Bowers said the company had won new business through its marketing and service levels. At a time when the UK’s leading business in its field was experiencing 12% growth, Lifterz had grown by 34% in 2014 and expected to increase revenue and profit further.
He said: “We have achieved our growth without seeing company debt levels escalating to uncomfortable levels. Our debt ratios compared with our competitors are very good indeed.”
Abzorb
A telecoms provider in Brighouse is helping to transform Kirklees into one of the UK’s most advanced digital locations.
Abzorb, based at Armytage Road, works with leading names such as BT and Vodafone to provide businesses with a single point of contact for all their telecoms and network needs.
The company, which has 62 employees, services 2,500 clients UK-wide, of which 1,300 are based in Yorkshire. Clients range from Huddersfield Town and SimplyBiz to University College London and the Campanile Hotel Group.
Abzorb has been at the forefront of telecoms for more than 20 years – encompassing mobile and fixed line phones, internet, vehicle tracking and cloud solutions.
It also has a partnership programme with 300 resellers who sell services on its behalf.
It has partnerships with the likes of BT, Vodafone, O2, Apple, Microsoft and Virgin Media as well as systems manufacturers such as Panasonic and Cisco.
The Government’s Broadband Delivery UK (BDUK) programme aims to deliver superfast broadband to 95% of the UK by 2017 and provides grants of up to £3,000 to SMEs. Abzorb is the fifth largest BDUK supplier in West Yorkshire.
