Wakefield-based Conservatory Outlet, a leading manufacturer of high-quality windows, doors, home extensions and conservatory products, has pressed the button on a new £500,000 investment drive to increase output and capacity.

The company, which employs 174 people at its 60,000ft² factory in Wakefield, successfully navigated the Covid-19 lockdown with over £4 million of sales across its 28-strong retail network of installation companies.

The investment drive will be completed in four stages and includes a number of infrastructure enhancements as well as the addition of a new ACT Schirmer cutting and routing machine that will dramatically improve the precision levels and edge quality of window profiles while markedly increasing production efficiency.

This ‘state of the art’ installation will be joined in 2021 by the construction of a 10,000ft² factory extension.

Michael Giscombe, Conservatory Outlet managing director, 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 while 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.”

He added: “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 are going to need that production flexibility.”

Conservatory Outlet was the subject of a management buyout in 2011 by current owners Greg Kane and Michael Giscombe and the focus since has been on building strong partnerships with the company’s network of retailers, while also investing heavily in R&D to ensure it continues to set consumer trends in windows, doors and conservatory products.

This approach has seen the Yorkshire-based firm increase turnover from £8 million to £21 million in just nine years, with the desire to grow by 50% between now and the end of 2024.

Mr Giscombe continued: “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 £4 million 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.”

He concluded: “Consumers have also chosen to spend more money on home improvements this year, rather than expensive foreign holidays. This has meant it was the perfect time to introduce the Eclipse Collection, our exclusive new range of super-slim aluminium windows and doors that are proving extremely popular.”

Conservatory Outlet, which was officially recognised by the London Stock Exchange as one of the Top 1,000 Companies to Inspire Britain 2020, has also reinforced its commitment to developing the talent of the future by recruiting five new apprentices.