Henry Tadros – Liveryman Profile

By Henry Tadros, chairman of Ercol, who was admitted as a liveryman in 2022.

This article is taken from Austin Friar 2023.

I’m proud to say that I am the fourth generation of Ercol to work at the manufacturer. My great grandfather, Lucian Ercolani, founded the company as a young Italian immigrant in 1920. The company was originally set up in the heart of High Wycombe, a traditional furniture-making hub. Today we manufacture from a 16,000 sq. m factory in Princes Risborough, Buckinghamshire, and work with customers and partners all round the world.

I’ve been at the business since 2010 and have worked my way round all the departments in that time. I decided during university that I wanted to join the family firm as I felt that there was a real direction and purpose I could bring to the business.

I started at Ercol as a management trainee. The first of three years of training was spent immersing myself on the factory floor – understanding machining, assembling, finishing, inspecting, prototyping and anything else I could find and learn.

After a year, I moved up into the office to get an understanding of the business’s various office roles before being appointed as area sales manager for the southwest of the UK. The final stage of my initial training involved me working for bed manufacturer ViSpring, where I shadowed their team in Plymouth and their European team in Leuven for a year.

After this broad introduction to the business, I was appointed European sales manager, focusing on exporting to the high[1]end retail and trade markets in northern Europe. I later progressed to international sales manager as we started building our US and rest of world business and then international sales director, at which point I joined the board. I took over as chairman from my father, Edward, in July 2022.

Ercol is a business based around familial tradition, and I feel the same about The Furniture Makers’ Company too. Six of my family members have been liverymen, with four of them Past Masters, and Lucian was a founding member of the Company. I don’t think there was ever any doubt that I would join. It was always just a matter of time. I have fond memories of the year my father was Master – his Installation Dinner and Master’s Outing to Venice, carrying the Furniture Makers’ banner at the Lord Mayor’s Show. I also played my bagpipes at the opening of Furniture Makers’ Hall and piped in Sir David Brewer, the Lord Mayor at the time. More recently, I enjoyed cycling in the London to Bordeaux bike ride. Being admitted as a liveryman in 2022 felt part of the culmination of my own personal journey to being appointed chairman of Ercol.

I’ve still got a lot to learn about the livery, but everything I’ve seen and heard that is planned is very positive for the industry.

All three areas of the Company’s output are extremely important in their own way. Welfare is key regarding looking after our workforces, especially in the difficult times we all find ourselves. Meanwhile, excellence drives us all to be the best manufacturers and designers that we can be. Finally, education is critical to ensuring the next generation will work in the industry and take us further.

Attracting as many manufacturers as possible will always make the livery more relevant and helpful, and while there is a huge pool of experience in the membership, it would always be beneficial to get the next generation of the industry involved earlier than they traditionally do.

It would be an honour to follow in my family members’ footsteps and be Master someday. Currently, I’m focused on Ercol’s journey to a sustainable modern future. I would – when ready – like to work on a similar journey with the Furniture Makers.

For more information about Ercol, go to ercol.com.