Firm marks 30 years with expansion
Mar 31 2009 by Iain Laing, The Journal
A FAMILY-RUN window business is celebrating 30 years of trading by investing £750,000 in a factory expansion. New manufacturing and spray paint equipment at Eston Replacement Windows’ operation has also led to the creation of six jobs.
The Middlesbrough company was founded in 1979 before being bought by then sales director Lawrence Wall and his wife Julie in 1990. The company now employs 28 people, including two of the couple’s children Philip, 25, and 22-year-old Helen, and turns over more than £1.5m annually.
The investment includes a £150,000 loan from UK Steel Enterprise, the Corus-subsidiary that supports new and growing businesses in steel areas.
It means the company now manufactures and paints all its products in-house, reducing costs and improving customer service. The new equipment has led to the expansion of the existing factory to 14,000 sq ft.
The company has installed windows and doors in more than 15,000 buildings across the North East and is currently working on the multi-million pound project to develop Middlesbrough Football Club’s Hotel and Conference Centre at Rockliffe Hall near Darlington.
Mr Wall said: “Until we purchased this new equipment, the actual products we install were manufactured by another company, meaning we weren’t in complete control.
“Now we can do everything in-house it means we are not dependent on outside supplier. We’ve reduced our costs and are providing a quicker, more reliable service as a result,” he added.
