UNDER COVER Operations!
Established companies cannot afford to rest on their laurels. At times there is a need to modernise, embrace new technologies and develop new marketing strategies. One company currently going through such a change is STUART CANVAS PRODUCTS, a Cheshire based company which, for the last thirty years, has been supplying ground covering systems to the sports industry.
STUART Canvas Products has a new Chief Executive in Edward Stoddart who took control last November. Edward has worked in the leisure industry for over ten years and is also a keen sportsman, still playing cricket at a local level. His key task is to ensure Stuart Canvas remains a leading contender in the manufacture and supply of sports surface covering products, with a special focus on raising the company profile and developing new strategies intended to widen their customer base. Already, a new website and brochure have been launched, and there are plans to bring new and improved products to the market this year. Stuart Canvas Products was founded in 1975. Originally, the company supplied canvas tarpaulins to the haulage industry but, with the boom in televised sport during the 1980s, the company saw a market for manufacturing and supplying
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pitch covers for sporting venues. The company became increasingly involved with a number of sporting venues, developing many innovative products to help protect their surfaces against rain and frost. Examples of their products include the Hover Cover, currently employed at Lord’s and Old Trafford, the inflatable tennis covers used at Wimbledon and the veterinary screens used by the majority of racecourses around the UK. All of their products are manufactured in their factory in Warrington, Cheshire. With a design team on site, and sales agents covering the country, the company are geared to provide their customers with a consistent, reliable service.
On my visit I was able to see what goes on behind the scenes. Whilst on site I witnessed the cleaning process for the ‘much used’ Wimbledon covers. The
Edward Stoddart
company has been supplying the All England Club for over 20 years. Their service for tennis tournaments is all-inclusive. They manufacture the covers to the required specification and then install them at the tournament venue. They also provide a maintenance service which includes transport, storage and cleaning. This cleaning process can often take up to 40 hours per cover. If properly maintained, a cover can last between 6 and 10 years. They bespoke manufacture over 200,000 square yards of covers a years! Cricket clubs have also benefited from a wide range of Stuart Canvas products, such as site screens and pitch covers. The company has also been successful in supplying many Premiership Football Clubs with pitch/frost covers. With more and more clubs having matches abandoned due to waterlogged pitches. the company are now investigating new,
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