Manufacturer Cheshire Mouldings has secured an exclusive supply relationship with one of the UK’s leading merchant buying groups and announced major plant expansion and spending on new machinery.
The St Helens company has concluded a two-year “solus deal” to provide the National Buying Group (NBG) with a range of products, including stairparts, small mouldings and decking accessories.
Managing director John Carney described it as an exciting development for the business, with potential for growth.
“We’ve been after the NBG contract for a while and made two previous bids for it, so it is very big news and it’s a major step for both parties,” he said. “We’ve already seen 31% growth this year and this adds to our positive outlook. In fact, we believe we can now help grow NBG’s business.”
Cheshire is also in the process of moving its distribution to a dedicated 38,000ft² facility on a 2.5-acre site in Brindley Road, St Helens, not far from its current Norman Road premises.
“With our recent growth, and expansion into new product areas, such as oak and walnut flooring, trade packs of timber and louvred doors, our Norman Road facility has become very tight,” said Mr Carney. “We take possession of the new site on July 1 and we’re putting in new racking and other equipment and should be up and running there from September. It will then be our distribution hub and our current site will then be focused on production.”
In the next few months, Cheshire will also take delivery of two new moulders, a Weinig Powermat 500 and 1000, which it ordered at last week’s Ligna technology exhibition in Hannover.
Following latest developments, the company is expecting further growth this year.
“The timber market is still tough and you hear some doom and gloom, but we’re getting out there and fighting for the business,” said Mr Carney. “In particular I think we’re seeing buyers, who were previously importing container-loads of mouldings, coming to us because we can provide the just-in-time service they now need.”
