Here we were given a look behind the scenes at Hurst ’ s huge operation , where they currently manufacture approximately 3500 panels and 500 composite doors per week , including the recently launched Neuma fds FD30 fire door system .

Hurst Doors Sales Director , Mark Atkinson , provided a view of the business from the early days to how Hurst has grown – and what 2023 has in store .

How did the business start and how has it grown ?

In 1996 the Hurst family took over the assets of Plastic Developments Ltd , a PVC door panel manufacturer , with the business trading as Hurst Plastics Limited , later as Hurst Doors . The factory was also moved to its current location in Hull , and the journey from there accelerated .

During the first 15 years , the business predominantly manufactured PVC door panels , however with the introduction of composite doors to the market , we moved into producing full composite doorsets and , later , fire doors .

As a mature product we expected the demand for PVC panels to decline , and anticipated fabricators and installers would purchase more composite

door products . However , with more composite doorset manufacturers entering the market , competing for volumes , and with competitors changing their focus or exiting panel manufacture altogether , we ’ ve become the ‘ go to ’ for panels , and we continue to invest in styles and colours as well as marketing support for our customers .

Even today , PVC door panels are responsible for 50 % of our £ 24m turnover . We don ’ t just supply panels for doors either ; we also supply them to static homes , for flood purposes and even catteries and kennels .

Today the business employs 170 people at our facility in Hull , 350 across the whole Hurst Group , and we have a customer base of 1800 installers .

With 25 % of staff having been here for more than 20 years , and 50 % for over 10 , our experienced team have a vast knowledge base and are a valuable resource to the business .

The 200K extension is a big investment . What will it do for Hurst Doors ?

As the business doubled in size , our factory space got very congested , while our fleet of vans also doubled from 12 to 24 . The new 430sqm extension enables us to increase our finished goods

storage capacity for both panels and composite by over 25 % and frees up space for an additional 30 bay storage area as well as further capacity in composite production for 100 more doors per week .

The extension enables a greater consistency of service in our dispatch of PVC panels and composite doors .

It houses the finished goods storage and distribution area , providing up to 1000 panel spaces and 500 composite door spaces as well as a dedicated loading area to load our fleet of 24 vans overnight .

It also houses the maintenance department and a small machining area featuring two CNC routers for preparing MDF cores and PVC skins .

Whilst the new extension enables a greater consistency of service in our dispatch of PVC panels and composite doors , it also helps us improve efficiency and reduce costs .

How do you support your customers ?

As part of our ongoing commitment to deliver a quality customer experience , we have a large customer care team that provide telephone support and we also have a dedicated online portal ., Hurst Live , which enables customers to manage all aspects

of their account online 24 / 7 , 365 days a year .

Having listened to customer feedback , we have enhanced both our online and offline support for customers over the past 12 months , heavily investing in the training of our customer care teams to ensure a quality service and also investing in new features on our online portal to improve customer user experience .

Hurst Live is often cited as one of the main reasons customers like using Hurst on our regular customer satisfaction surveys , which is helping us to secure long-term partnerships .

They can manage and track orders end to end in real time with full visibility on the status of their orders provided . The system also has a repository of videos and useful information for supporting customers businesses .

How is 2023 looking for Hurst Doors ?

Despite the uncertain economic outlook , it ’ s positive . We are in a strong position and have plans to introduce new products in both our PVC panels and composite door ranges later in the year . There are also plans to extend our customer support too .

We are also looking at apprenticeships . Nobody in the industry is immune from recruitment and the skills shortage and we will be putting a strategy in place to try and attract young people into the industry .

With our expansion and continuous improvement in the quality of our products and service , we can reassure our customers that we can provide them with the support they need to keep their businesses moving forward .

www . hurstdoors . co . uk