Display specialist's illuminating ideas light way to export growth

Huddersfield-based Leach Design celebrated it’s 125th anniversary last year. The business, which has been based in West Yorkshire for its entire history, is looking to jazz-up shop displays with LED lighted graphics.

Richard Leach, managing director of the family-run company, told The Yorkshire Post: “We have seen enormous growth driven by a combination of graphic displays using LED lighting technology.

“We see plenty more growth potential in the combination of large format graphic displays with LED lighting technology.

“We’ve added to our product design team in that area so that we can increase the rate of new product development to satisfy that growing market area.”

Leach also works in the museums and cultural sector and has increased its interior and architectural design teams. Rather than just printing graphic displays, the company is designing and building environments.

The cultural arena is proving to be a boon for Leach when it comes to exports.

Mr Leach said: “Exports are about 15-20 per cent of our business now and it has been growing.

“The main export sector is in the museum and cultural area. We’ve recently completed some major projects overseas, for instance the National Museum of Oman and also the Boris Yeltsin Presidential Centre in Russia.

“These are major overseas projects where our expertise in museums and visitor centres has been well used.”

Mr Leach believes that there is “huge potential in the overseas market” but that the business is trying to build in a “controlled fashion”.

Geographically, he says, the Middle East is a particular area of interest to the company as many countries in the region move on from an oil-based economy.

Mr Leach said: “The Middle East has got a booming heritage and cultural sector, which is largely driven from their plans to move on from the oil-based economy to the next stage of their economic development.

“The many UK companies, ourselves included, who are specialists in supplying into the museum, visitor and cultural sectors have been drawn into that market because they are requiring that specialism.”

British provenance is valued in the market, says Mr Leach, whose grandfather set up the business in 1891 as a photographic studio in Brighouse.

“Being a long-established British company with a really impressive track record in that market is very helpful,” said Mr Leach.

The company, which employs 90 staff and has a turnover £11m, also does a lot of work for large brands like HSBC, Dyson and Vauxhall. Over Christmas the firm had ten major stores in Oxford Street, London using its graphic displays.

Mr Leach says the business has an “organic incremental growth plan” in place, that could see Leach Design reach 100 employees again for the first time in “very many years”.

However, Mr Leach says the business is going to have to “work harder” to find growth, as its retail customers are feeling less confident due to prospects of inflation. He said: “We have to address our market with that in mind. There’s going to be less natural growth with our retail customers and we’re going to have to work harder to find that growth by offering new products, new ways of doing things and adding new value to our major customers in the retail sector.”

One innovation Leach hopes will attract customers is its Product Wall which is a product display that incorporates graphics, LED lighting and magnetic fixing technology.

Family’s long roots in firm

Leach Design began life as a photographic studio in 1891, when the business was founded by Arthur Holdsworth Leach. The business was sold to Hunting plc in 1966, but the family continued to operate the business.

In 1999 the Leach family bought the company back from Hunting plc. Richard Leach says since then the firm has seen its markets evolve at the fastest ever rate.