Bad weather sees huge demand for Slingsby products

The Bradford business said sales for the last three weeks were up by more than a fifth as customers snapped up cold weather products before the onset of the big freeze.

The firm, which turned over 16m last year and makes and distributes 35,000 workplace products through its catalogue and website, said it had been inundated with orders for snow and ice-related equipment after it invested heavily in snow shovels, salt spreaders, grit bins and ice melt, a powder which melts ice on pathways and roads.

The especially cold weather triggered travel chaos in Yorkshire with long delays on the roads and cancellations on the rail network.

Dominic Slingsby, managing director, said the firm had seen a steady increase in sales since September, with the Arctic-like conditions at the start of this year still in the minds of customers. Demand then "went crazy" in the week before this winter's heavy snow, which brought parts of Britain to a standstill.

"Last winter we were one of only a few companies in the UK that were able to supply winter products throughout all the chaos that the January snow brought.

"This reinforced our position as the UK's leading workplace equipment provider and we were keen to raise the bar even further this year," Mr Slingsby said.

"We've also experienced high volumes of sales of winter products at our trade counter from both commercial and domestic customers that require products immediately.

"With further cold weather and snow forecast, this trend looks set to continue."

Slingsby's success is due in part to its on-site plastic moulding facility, which allows it to produce grit bins and other similar products using recycled plastic.

The firm's clients range from small businesses to major corporates as well as the NHS.

Its origins go back to 1893, when Harry Crowther Slingsby obtained his first orders for trucks.

Last week a Yorkshire Post survey found that the cold spell had forced local authorities to use an average of 35 per cent of their original winter road grit stocks.