Rixonway company profile
IF you were to ask consumers to compose a list of the UK’s least environmentally friendly companies, furniture and kitchen manufacturers would undoubtedly make an appearance.
They might not spew out noxious fumes, extract or negatively impact local communities but they use a fast diminishing and valuable resource – wood.
Over the past few years the call for companies to use sustainable timber has grown ever louder and many manufacturers have answered positively. But despite good intentions and better sourcing strategies, waste and energy consumption is still considerable. It’s an issue that Dewsbury-based Rixonway Kitchens takes very seriously. The firm, which manufactures kitchens for local authority or housing association owned properties, is blazing a trail in an industry not usually associated with innovation outside of function and design.
It not only boasts ISO 14001, but completed the complex process required to be awarded the mark in record time and received an award in recognition of its efforts. Its vehicle fleet have the most fuel efficient engines, its waste products are recycled or reused, it brokers and encourages industry collaboration on recycling, and is always looking for environmentally responsible solutions for materials that are notoriously difficult to recycle – or costly.
Around 90% of its kitchens are produced from chipboard manufactured from environmentally friendly alternatives rather than imported hardwoods and glue and dowels have replaced plastic fittings formerly used on kitchen units. It measures and offsets the CO2 emissions of its 66 strong fleet and has Forest Stewardship Council Chain of Custody accreditation.
The firm has also notched up an impressive number of industry “firsts” including signing up to the Government’s strategy of achieving a zero carbon target for all new homes by 2016 and becoming the first kitchen manufacturer to introduce a proven recycling scheme for old cabinets.
It’s this, and the firm’s commitment to produce top quality kitchens for the social housing sector, that has enabled it to dramatically grow its turnover amid restructuring, systems and machinery investment, and relocations.
Last year, Rixonway reported a turnover of £19m and is projecting a £4.5m increase for its next financial year. With the Government’s Decent House Standard programme still having several years to run (unsurprisingly it’s behind schedule), Rixonway is guaranteed work in the midst of a housing slump. Currently the firm is producing around 1,000 kitchens a week, helped by a £1m investment in machinery that has automated many of the process and done away with the need for semi-skilled labour.
It may seem like easy money, but as Paul Rose, the firm’s managing director explains, Rixonway is committed to providing social housing residents with quality kitchens.
“Making kitchen units isn’t rocket science but we do it with the end customer in mind. The tenant is king,” he explains.
“The units themselves might be rigid, but the tenant can choose the doors and fittings. New doors and windows don’t really make a difference to your home, but a new kitchen does. The whole process has to be as non-invasive as possible from what is fitted to the actual fitting itself.”
A recognised and approved public sector contractor, Rixonway provides many of the UK’s local authorities and housing associations. Employing more than 330 employees, it is one of the region’s largest kitchen manufacturers and this year celebrates its 30th year of trading.
It was originally founded in 1978 by Bob Ashton, who sold the firm a decade later in a management buyout led by finance director Curtis Wright. At the time, business was split 50/50 between local authority work and the private sector but the acquisition of Halvanto Kitchens in 1992 not only boosted its turnover but its public sector business in a era that was lean for private sector developers. A clever exit from its original MBO backers in 1995 enabled Rixonway to become majority shareholder and by 1998 master of its own destiny when it bought venture capitalists 3i out.
However, the firm’s successful decision to focus its efforts on social housing had led to it running out of space at its ageing premises in Morley.
“It was an old factory standing on a four acre site offering us 100,000sq ft,” recalled Rose.
“The buildings were all over the place meaning that there wasn’t a natural flow. So we relocated to Kirklees and invested in a purpose built factory. But 18 months later we outgrew that so added on another 30,000sq ft in 2002.”
It wasn’t to be the last addition to floor space. Three years later, Rixonway bolted on another extension giving them a whopping 170,000sq ft.
“We have enough space now,” admits Rose.
In 2006, there was to be another MBO this time led by Rose following Wright’s decision to leave. The managing director, who joined the business in 1991, is upbeat and proud about a business that has multiple social dimensions.
“We decided to focus on the environment to set us above our competition,” says Rose.
“It’s something that requires a lot of effort and commitment but it’s worth it.”
