/ COMPANY FOCUS : KATELL
KATELL POWER AHEAD THROUGH DIVERSITY OF MANUFACTURE
Bringing Aycliffe Business Park Together | 17
/ COMPANY FOCUS : KATELL
KATELL POWER AHEAD THROUGH DIVERSITY OF MANUFACTURE
Katell is yet another fine example of one of Newton Aycliffe ’ s “ hidden treasures ”.
Many will have seen the name . For those who drive down Durham Way North every day , you can ’ t miss the firm ’ s 46,000 square foot facility .
But few will be aware of the diversity that is going on at Katell these days which has enabled it to grow into a £ 6m-a-year operation that employs 76 people .
Katell ’ s core business is fireplaces and surrounds , manufacturing around 500 every week and supplying to the likes of ASDA , Homebase , Tesco and many national house builders as well as social housing providers and local authorities up and down the UK .
But other areas have come in to play in a big way recently , and about 30 % of Katell ’ s business now comes from other lines including wardrobes , occasional furniture , bespoke bedroom furniture and even summer houses .
So much so , in fact , that a neighbouring firm on the park , Chelsea Summer Houses , has managed to accommodate an increased order book thanks to manufacturing support from Katell . Another local shop fitting company were able to accept a very large order to supply shop furniture for a national chain of book shops , based on the knowledge that Katell were able to supply them with high quality products on a very short lead time , over 2500 tables were supplied in a little under 2 months .
Martin , Katell ’ s Design Director , who has been with the company since it started in 2000 , helped to develops the firm ’ s product ranges since the move to new premises on Durham Way North after fire struck its old factory on Park 2000 in 2006 .
He said : “ Like a lot of businesses , we ’ re evolving all the time and we ’ re always looking at ways to develop our lines .
“ Fireplaces and surrounds have been our mainstay from day one and we continue to mass produce them for councils as far South as Cornwall , South Wales and Yorkshire and up to Scotland , as well as for big name national retailers .
“ But other lines of business are becoming more prevalent and , with the vast number of manufacturing companies on Aycliffe Business Park , I don ’ t think a lot them will be fully aware of what we can do .
“ Our in-house design team has over 20 years experience in the furniture and joinery industry . Our designers can create fully working prototypes from basic sketches or fully detailed piece part drawings using the latest 3D modelling software .
“ So , basically , anything that needs making out of wood , we can do it !”
Katell is owned by Telford-based Charlton and Jenrick ( with a group turnover of about £ 13m ), and its operation in Aycliffe really is cuttingedge .
Martin added : “ We can supply realistic renderings so that you can look at a model before we commit to prototyping , and using software such as Alphacam and Solid Works final designs can be transferred straight to our CNC routers , not only saving time and money but ensuring 100 % accuracy of the finished product .
“ We have an extensive range of timber processing machines along with highlytrained operatives , meaning we can produce accurate components machined to a very high standard .
“ Also , all components produced at Katell are hand-finished to ensure the best possible products is supplied to our customer .”
Katells ’ 46,000 sq ft manufacturing facility is geared up to produce anything from a one-off bespoke piece of furniture to high-volume batches of components .
You can call Katell on 01325 379060
For more details about its work , go to www . katellcommercial . co . uk
Or to learn more about fireplaces , go to www . katell . co . uk