A COMPANY making panels for kitchen doors and cupboards marked a £10m move to new premises with an open day.
And the chairman of Decorative Panels Group coupled the celebrations with a call for the Government to encourage more housebuilding – to enable the firm to capitalise on its major investment.
The group bought the former Carrington Wire factory at Lowfields Business Park, Elland, in January last year and has been working to upgrade the premises before moving machinery in over the past eight weeks.
The refurbished 175,000sq ft factory provides a production facility for its components business, which previously operated from premises in Oakes and Longwood.
Decorative Panels Components Ltd now has 100 employees – almost all of whom transferred from Huddersfield – working two shifts.
In total, the group employs 400 people at sites in Elland and Teesside. It already had a 96,000sq ft unit at Lowfields housing its head office and laminates subsidiary.
Chairman Steve Gaunt said the components arm was enjoying steady business, but added: “As a supplier to the kitchen industry, we would say that the country is not building enough new houses.
“Housebuilding levels are at a third of what they should be.
“Construction supports the economy and this company would grow on the back of that.”
However, he added: “Our businesses achieved turnover of more than £80m in the year to March, 2012, and we are forecasting £90m for this financial year.
“We hope to win more market share because of the investment we have made in the factory and our facilities.
“We have installed more than £3.5m of new manufacturing equipment. In total, we have spent approaching £10m on the move, including buying and renovating the site.”
Managing director Guy Metcalfe said the components business now had the capacity to manufacture more than 600,000 panels a week.
He added: “The development of such a site is testament to our commitment to manufacturing in the UK utilising the most advanced and efficient technologies. We have always viewed such investments as key to competitive success in what is a global market.”
Decorative Panels traces its origins to 1907. Since then it has evolved from a cabinetmaker and coffin manufacturer to a group with five factories operating in the furniture and allied industries.
Hundreds of guests at the open day included Mr Gaunt’s father, Frank, aged 91, and Mr Metcalfe’s father Trevor, 81, who together built up the business during the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s.
Calder Valley MP Craig Whittaker, who officially opened the new premises, said: “This is a world-class business which has made a huge investment in the local economy.
“This is excellent news for the Calder Valley and manufacturing as a whole. It is another great example of companies putting money into the local economy and supporting jobs”.
