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3 minute read

Investment drive at Conservatory Outlet set to boost output and capacity

A West Yorkshire-based manufacturer of windows, doors, home extensions and conservatory products – has embarked on a £500,000 investment drive as it looks to increase output and capacity.

Conservatory Outlet, which employs 174 people at its 60,000 sq ft factory in Wakefield, is hoping to build on a successful lockdown period that saw it achieve over £4m of sales across its 28-strong retail network of installation companies.

The improvements will be completed in four stages and include a number of infrastructure enhancements and the addition of a new cutting and routing machine that will considerably improve the precision levels and edge quality of window profiles, whilst increasing production efficiency significantly.

This state-of-the-art installation will be joined in early 2021 by the construction of a 10,000 sq ft factory extension.

Conservatory Outlet has embarked on an investment drive as it looks to increase output and capacity at its Wakefield site / Picture: Conservatory Outlet

 

Michael Giscombe, managing director at Conservatory Outlet, said: “Manufacturing is at the heart of what we do and it is vital for us to continue to invest in our factory so we can meet growing customer demand across existing and new product ranges. Our network of retailers has achieved amazing success in recent months and this led to us exploring new ways to increase capacity whilst maintaining lead times.

“The opportunity to purchase the latest technology and make some key changes to our infrastructure will make a huge difference at just the right time. With all of the improvements, plus the factory extension, we believe we can increase capacity by 20% next year and, if the pipeline of sales is anything to go by, we’re going to need that production flexibility.”

Current owners, Greg Kane and Michael Giscombe, purchased Conservatory Outlet in an MBO in 2011. By focusing heavily on building strong partnerships with the company’s network of retailers, and investing in its R&D team, the firm has seen turnover increase from £8m to £21m in just nine years, with the desire to grow by 50% between now and the end of 2024.

(l-r) Conservatory Outlet chief executive officer, Greg Kane with managing director, Mick Giscombe / Picture: Conservatory Outlet

 

Greg added: “Like most businesses we were temporarily hit by Covid-19, but decided to tackle issues created by the pandemic head-on, launching a ‘lockdown sales competition’ that achieved £4m in just seven weeks. To support this, we also accelerated the launch of our innovative new design app, which gives customers the freedom to design and price hundreds of styles of windows and doors online via zoom.”

Recognised by the London Stock Exchange as one of the ‘top 1000 companies to inspire Britain 2020’, Conservatory Outlet has also reinforced its commitment to developing the talent of the future by recruiting five new apprentices.


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