INDUSTRYNEWS
ONE OF REGION ’ S BEST-PERFORMING BUSINESSES
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STARGLAZE , THE HOLDING company for respected Lincoln-based window and door trade fabricator , Sternfenster , has been named one of the East Midlands ’ fastestgrowing companies in a recent authoritative study .
The East Midlands Top 200 Report , compiled by financial advisers Grant Thornton and the CBI , ranked Starglaze / Sternfenster 57th among the region ’ s 200 most dynamic firms , which includes businesses operating in areas as diverse as finance , agriculture , services and property and construction . The fabricator
is also Lincolnshire ’ s 5th best performing company , according to the same study .
In recent years , Sternfenster has seen impressive growth thanks to its forwardthinking investment in product development , new manufacturing technologies , increasing operational efficiency , and strengthening its brand . With invoice sales growing 64 % between January 2014 and January 2015 , the fabricator is a strong contributor to the East Midlands ’ economy and , alongside the other companies mentioned in the top , has helped generate an increase of 36 % in new jobs in the region over the past three years .
“ We ’ re delighted to feature in the report ,” commented Sternfenster Managing Director , Mike Parczuk . “ It is part of the pay-off for our long-term investment and product development strategy we ’ ve been pursuing in recent years . As a proud family business , we believe that the surest route to growth is doing our utmost to help our customers grow , offering them innovative , desirable products to give them an edge in competitive markets and assist them to differentiate their offering , backed with industry-leading customer service that includes strategic sales and marketing support .”
“ In the coming months , we ’ ll be continuing to invest in our people and products . Most notably , we ’ ll be opening a new aluminium factory , which will generate a further 53 jobs over the next three years , and we ’ ll also launch a series of innovative products that will enable our installers to capitalise on even more profitable opportunities , and appeal to a larger audience of potential new customers .”
‘ offering innovative , desirable products ’
Founded in 1974 , today Sternfenster operates from a state-of-the-art 80,000 sq . ft . factory in Lincoln , employing close to 170 people . Directors Mike and Simon Parczuk , who spearhead the company , are sons of the original founders .
www . sternfenster . com
Recognition for the UK ’ s forgotten wealth creators
According to the Forum of Private Business , more needs to be done to support fathers who are also business owners , for the good of the economy . They believe the best way to help this forgotten army of wealth creators is to reduce the time they spend on red tape and regulation as well as the stress that goes along with it .
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ANALYSIS OF OVER 1,000 BUSINESS owners has shown that 63 % said an important consideration for setting up their business was for the flexibility it allowed them to spend more time with their family , as well as a vehicle to support them .
As a result , the Forum argues that helping these businesses to grow , and supporting their owners , is important to the future of the economy , and one way to do this is to make it more attractive for such businesses to become employers by streamlining regulation .
Ian Cass , Managing Director of the Forum of Private Business and father of two , feels that business owners who have a good work life balance tend to be more productive and make better decisions .
“ I can honestly say that running your own business and trying to maintain a healthy family life is extremely challenging in this day and age . The government could do more to help by reducing the time that business owners spend on compliance , they need to reduce the red tape and regulation while simplifying things for business owners ,” pointed out Ian .
‘ a real demotivating factor ’
“ Support with childcare and the employment allowance has helped fathers start up and grow their business to a point , but the fact that even the smallest employer has to spend 27 hours on compliance is a real demotivating factor , as well as being a cause of stress , and this along with a lack of time is the biggest problem faced by our members ,” Ian concludes .
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