Coffin maker doubles market share
A FAMILY-run funeral supplies business in on course for turnover of £4m – an increase of just under £1m on last year.
Wirral company Halliday Funeral Supplies claims to be one of the UK’s largest manufacturers of coffins, caskets and fittings for funeral directors. It also supplied a range of boards to other coffin makers.
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In the last two years the Prenton-based business has doubled hits market share, increasing its customer base beyond the North West into the rest of the UK.
This year, the company will manufacture around 26,000 coffins – in its busiest months this can amount to 600 coffins a week.
More than 95% of the coffins manufactured are Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certified, testament to Halliday FS’s rigorous sourcing policy for logs.
The company says its turnover will increase from £3.1m to £4m in 2014/15 by securing work with more than 80 additional funeral directors. In the first quarter of 2015, turnover was up by 27% on the equivalent period in 2014.
In the past 12 months, the company, which was founded in 1979 by Dawn Halliday, increased its workforce by six to 32. The business is today led by her three sons, Richard, Stephen and Philip.
During 2014, Halliday FS invested £500,000 in the installation of a £220,000 199kW HDG biomass boiler as well as a £30,000 state-of-the-art waste processing unit.
Improvements have also been made to the firm’s production line manufacturing capabilities to guarantee an even quicker turnaround of orders.
Richard Halliday said: “We have attracted new customers because they like our commitment to outstanding craftsmanship, our comprehensive range of products and our passion for customer service.
“We are also a business that continually invests in our manufacturing capabilities, environmental responsibilities and, most importantly of all, the training and development of our people.”
