Bathroom products company taps into success

BATHROOM products manufacturer Cavalier Marketing is planning to increase turnover by as much as 30 per cent and create new jobs in the next five years as it continues to expand.

The Keighley-based company, which makes bathroom furniture and accessories, has trebled in size over the last five years to a turnover of almost 20m, employing 110 across three sites in Yorkshire.

The private family-run firm supplies retailers including B&Q, Homebase and Wicks as well as selling through regional and national distributors and independent outlets.

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Managing director John Harrison said: "We are incredibly fortunate that we have grown over the last few years.

"In the last year we have grown by 14 per cent, which is pretty good going in the current climate but it's going to be fairly challenging for everyone in 2010."

The company is run by Mr Harrison and his brother, sales director Robert Harrison.

The family, which has been involved in the bathrooms market for over 100 years, founded Cavalier Marketing in 1995 when it bought a vacuum mouldings division from US-based Bemis Cavalier.

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New products and innovative technology are predicted to drive Cavalier's future growth.

The company produces shower trays, shower enclosures, bath panels and toilet seats. In 2003, it branched out to manufacture bathroom furniture including fitted furniture, cabinets, washstands.

Later this year, Cavalier will launch a new range of baths after investing 400,000 in new thermal technology to manufacture a bath which keeps the water hot once it it is run. It has patented the technology, which it described as a "wake-up call for other people in the industry".

The new bath plant, which will produce about 200-250 baths a week, is expected to be in operation in the last quarter of 2010.

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Mr Harrison said: "Bathroom furniture is an area that has grown rapidly. We are constantly bringing out new products but we had never made baths before.

"We didn't want to produce a standard bath so we designed and patented technology which can produce baths with thermal properties to stop the water going cold. They are 40-50 per cent more energy efficient than standard baths."

The company manufactures thousands of products from two sites in Keighley - a 100,000 sq ft base and a smaller site. It has a site in Skipton, which manufactures shower enclosures and provides warehousing facilities. There is also a satellite office in China.

"We are constantly trying to re-invest ourselves, we are not here to stand still," said Mr Harrison. "We are not going to see a major uplift in turnover this year because of the investment in the new plant but it will certainly be on a par with where we were last year which is pretty good going.

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"Over the next five years we expect to increase our workforce by 10-15 per cent and turnover by 5m-6m."

The company is advised by Andrew Dawson and David Mitchell at Mitchells Corporate Finance, which is a member of the Mitchells Group, based in Leeds.

Mr Harrison attributes the firm's success to its innovation. "Our success is down to the fact that we have got some unique products," he said. "We are a family firm and we have been in the industry for quite a while now. People know and trust us."

He added: "While our customers have suffered during the recession, our new ranges are increasing our turnover.

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"We are not standing still and we will be bringing out new brands which will be a wake-up call for other people in the industry."

Family firm has three sites

Cavalier Marketing is a privately-owned family business which operates over three sites in Yorkshire.

The company, which is based in Keighley, is run by brothers John and Robert Harrison whose family has over 100 years experience in the bathrooms market.

The family founded Cavalier Marketing in 1995 when it bought a vacuum mouldings division from US-based Bemis Cavalier.

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Cavalier produces shower trays, shower enclosures, bath panels and toilet seats.

In 2003, the company moved to a 100,000 sq ft site in Keighley and began to manufacture bathroom furniture including fitted furniture, cabinets, washstands.

The following year it opened a warehousing and assembly facility at Skipton where it manufactures shower enclosures. In 2007 it added a 17,000 sq ft warehouse in Keighley.

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