YPIE Blog Day 12: Halstock

Lisa Sandall, designer at Ercol, blogs about the Young Professional Industry Experience group’s trip to Halstock.

Our trip to Halstock started with a brief introduction to the business structure, followed by a tour of the manufacturing facility, which incorporated cabinet making, veneering, CNC machining, finishing and dispatch.

At Ercol we specialise in solid wood, so hearing about veneering from Halstock was fascinating for me. As was the amount of choice available to the customer.

Halstock is strategically complex in its manufacturing capabilities. Being a bespoke manufacturer allows the customer to have exactly what they want – which they can’t get from anywhere else – completely tailored to their personal taste.

If the customer wants pink sycamore they can have it. There are hundreds of choices of veneer for the customer to choose from. And wood is just one option – cabinets could be mirror, stone, metals in any finish, or leather covered (including sting-ray leather!). The day opened my eyes to a whole world of possibilities!

Every product Halstock crafts is a one-off, and each one throws up issues to be resolved in production; constantly challenging but never dull.

Throughout the afternoon we learnt more about the complexity of managing bespoke projects, from procuring the correct materials that the customer has approved, surveying the site (which may or may not be fully built), and working with contractors, architects and designers to react along the way to changes and delays.

The systems and processes in place to track and record these ever evolving projects are phenomenal! All the complexity can be neatly recorded, tracked and therefore somewhat controlled.

A lasting impression was the culture of the company. It recognises that behaviour drives performance, and that the company gets more out of motivated people. The morale of employees is tracked and action taken to keep this high.

Employees at all levels are empowered to make decisions, work flexibly and choose their overtime hours. The profit sharing bonus scheme rewards everyone for their contribution to the continual yearly growth of the business, fuelled almost entirely by word of mouth recommendation and a reputation for outstanding service.