And so , in November , two team members were invited ‘ up North ’ ( well , even more North ) to see the ‘ new ’ HQ that Made For Trade moved into , just before the Covid outbreak , and were treated to a tour from Ian Bousfield , Marketing Design Manager . Meeting us in a very stylish reception , the surroundings were unlike many other factory visits we have been to , and there ’ s been a lot in our careers . An enormous , light-filled

and high ceiling atrium , that is certainly befitting of a factory with the capacity to produce 400 Korniche lanterns per week , with chic leather sofas and glasswalled working spaces ; a sign of things to come as we started to work our way through the departments .

“ We ’ ve now been at the Wynyard head office – Wellington House – for two years ,” explained Ian , as we made our way through the entrance towards the main

offices , and past the showroom and training area that we were saving ‘ for the end ’. “ We moved in just prior to the COVID outbreak , during which time we were continuing to establish the new Bi-folding door factory alongside moving all our administration operations here .

“ We moved up to Wynyard following extensive growth and took over the building following a full re-fitting of the 110,000 sq ft space . This included MFT

investing in new machinery - FomIndustries CNC , Saws and Crimpers for Wellington House to ensure optimum fabrication speeds and quality assurance . The building has a large loading bay facility , to roll on product to the MFT specially-built fleet of 10 vehicles with hi-hiabs for safe site delivery , allowing MFT to transport door sets assembled .”

Regular readers of Pro Installer will remember this Spring , Made For Trade ’ s fleet expansion news ,

which was part of extensive investment into delivery vehicles . A ‘ first for fenestration ’ the fleet would not only increase post code coverage for the company and its products , but also improve safety of staff when loading and unloading cargo .

Taking care of staff is something that is incredibly important in any sector , and no one can argue that health and safety should always be paramount on the ‘ shop floor ’ and when transporting goods . What about the other staff at Wellington House ? As we made our way into the main offices we , were about to meet some of them too .

“ In total , we currently employ 199 staff and rising across our three factories in Teesside ( Korniche Lantern , Visoglide Plus and the head office / bifold factory ),” Ian continued . “ The head office has our main admin staff departments plus Directors and Senior managerial staff for : Engineering department , Marketing department , Sales department , Quoting departments for each of our products , Customer Services , Accounts , Purchasing , Quality Assurance , Transport . Also , we have our ancillary staff who maintain machinery and buildings etc .”

Walking through the offices , the working space is light and