£2.1m Innovation Centre opens

Bed manufacturer, Harrison Spinks, has opened a new £2.5m Innovation Centre at its headquarters and manufacturing site in Leeds.

The Innovation Centre houses the company’s development engineering team, Sleep lab, management, sales, IT, purchasing, customer services, finance and marketing teams and also a state-of-the-art showroom for its Somnus range.

Paula Nickolds, Managing Director of John Lewis, was the guest of honour at the official opening, when there was also celebration of a successful year for the 178-year-old bedmaker following a series of high-profile award wins including two Queen’s Awards for Enterprise in Innovation and International Trade, a Furniture Makers Company award for export and most recently being named Bed Manufacturer of the Year 2018/2019 (turnover over £10m).

Harrison Spinks has been working with John Lewis since 1997 and manufactures beds under its John Lewis Natural Collection and Ultimate Collection brands.

Simon Spinks, Managing Director of Harrison Spinks, said: “We’re delighted that Paula officially opened the Harrison Spinks Innovation Centre.  Harrison Spinks and John Lewis share many of the same values and both companies pride themselves on quality, integrity and vision so we can’t think of a better partner to share this milestone with.

“2018 has been a great year for the business as many of our investments and hard work have come to fruition and have been recognised with some great accolades and awards – not least the Queen’s Awards for Enterprise.

“As we move into 2019 we’ll take on a new focus with some exciting new developments for the direction of the Harrison Spinks brand.”