Nottingham-based FW Mason & Sons Ltd recorded “exceptional” sales growth during September and has installed £750,000 worth of new machinery to keep pace with demand.
The company’s sales to independent retailers and the merchanting trade jumped by 17.5%, compared with the same month in 2002, due to continued public interest in home improvements and popularity of new products. Masons says it continues to add an average of 26 independent retailers to its customer portfolio each month.
Executive sales and marketing manager Pauline Morrison said: “The long, hot summer has benefited suppliers to the home improvement sector.”
She said the company’s range of decking products had continued to sell well into the autumn, with stock being built up for next year including fresh decking products to bring “innovative and attractive designs” to the range.
Masons’ new equipment, installed at its Colwick mills, has eliminated production areas previously requiring manual handling and improved productivity on sawn and planed lines by 30%.
The Swedish-built machinery comprises out-feed and bundling stations, a fully automatic bander and cross cutter, plus conveyors which transfer and feed the product directly into shrink-wrapping machines
