£200K extension investment key to Hurst’s growth

Leading door manufacturer Hurst Doors has invested £200K in a new 430sqm extension to its 50K sq ft manufacturing facility in Hull to enable a greater consistency of service in its dispatch of PVC door panels and composite doors.

The investment is in response to five years of growth that has seen the business almost double in size, moving from manufacturing approximately 1700 panels per week to over 3500 and from around 200 composite doors to 500.

The new building, which will reduce the energy required for heating and lighting, will house the finished goods storage and distribution area, providing up to 1000 panel spaces and 500 composite door spaces and a dedicated loading area to load Hurst’s dedicated fleet of 24 vans overnight.

The extension will also house the maintenance department and a small machining area featuring two CNC routers for preparing MDF cores and PVC skins.

Kevin Wheatman, Hurst’s Director and General Manager, explained: “Almost doubling in size saw our factory space get very congested, very quickly, with dispatch encroaching on manufacturing, while our fleet of vans also doubled from 12 to 24.

“Creating the additional space has enabled us to increase our finished goods storage capacity for both panels and composite by over 25%. The freed-up space will also allow for an additional 30 bay storage area as well as further capacity in composite production for 100 more doors per week.”

Other benefits include an improved 3m production line layout, both for storage of raw materials and linefeed access, improving health and safety and production efficiency, and the relocation of the packaging of Composite and Panels to nearer the dispatch area.

Hurst’s investment is set to improve its service to customers and provide the company with the means for further growth.

“We have built our reputation on our OTIF and have recovered to an OTIF of 99.8% on panels and 97% on composites, and, while we have hit those targets, this investment will make it easier to achieve them and reassure customers that we are doing everything we can to increase and ensure consistency of service,” added Kevin.

“The additional space will also allow for future investment in the plant and equipment to facilitate the composite production process, improving both efficiency and reducing costs, giving us scope to grow capacity and the business even further.”