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Fortune Brands invests in new manufacturing site in the UK
AMERICAN FIRM Fortune Brands Innovations, has shown a ‘sig - nificant’ commitment to the UK market with a major investment in a new 270,000sq ft manufacturing site in Staffordshire.
In a statement, Fortune Brands Innovations – the parent company of some of the biggest names in the KBB world including Aqualisa and House of Rohl brands, Victoria and Albert, Perrin and Rowe and Riobel – said the move “will drive Fortune Brands Innovations’
Arte Form acquires bespoke finishing company
UK-BASED BRASSWARE specialist Arte Form has acquired finishing company Finish X, which has enabled it to apply a variety of different satin and polished metallic colours to chrome products. Arte Form struck a deal with Finish X around six months ago to acquire the technology and processes that now allow it to spray not only any of its own chrome products to match many other manufacturer’s colours, but to spray any chrome product from any manufacturer to match a specific finish. The process involves spraying a specially developed primer/etch to the product, which prepares the surface and allows the chosen colour to be sprayed on top. The final colour is said to blend with the primer to form a permanent bond. Arte Form director Nathan Helms told kbbreview how he heard of a boffin in the
West Country who had developed a special primer that was the secret to the whole process. He said: “Usually nothing wants to stick to chrome because it is too hard and too shiny. So you can’t just spray a chrome hinge another colour out of an aerosol can, because as soon as it dries it will peel off. What this guy in the West Country had developed was a primer/etch that you spray on the chrome, then you pick a colour and spray that on top. There is no dipping and stripping and all the horrible chemicals that are involved with that. And no waste by-product.” After supplying some sample products for respraying, Helms was convinced
he had a potentially successful product on his hands and did the deal to buy the stocks of primer and paints and Finish X, the specialist spraying company that did the final finishing, which was previously coordinated by Joe Muhl of Ocean Bathrooms in Bridport.
Not only can Arte Form spray their own chrome products to match many other manufacturer’s finishes, but retailers can also post them other chrome products for them to match to one of their own colours. Turnaround time is reportedly around four to six weeks.
Retailers can also send other brands of chrome products to Arte Form for them to spray match to other manufacturer’s colours. Helms said they can normally match 80% of colours from their standard colour line-up, but if they can’t, they offer a bespoke service where they will colour-match to a specific colour.
August 2023 • 5
growth in the region” and support the company’s luxury brands within the kitchen and bathroom industry. Building work on the site is already under way and the 270,000sq ft manufacturing centre of excellence, located at the i54 Business Park, on the south Staffordshire border with Wolverhampton, will also be the EMEA (Europe, Middle East, and Africa) headquarters for Fortune Brands’ Water Innovations portfolio.
Expected to be operational by the
end of the year, the manufacturing site will also include a customer experience centre and training facility and is set to create 250 new jobs in the local area. Commenting
on the project
Steve Geary, Fortune Brands general manager, said “This investment reflects
our continued commitment to the luxury ceramics and brassware sectors, and we are hugely excited about the project.
“This new facility will allow us to better service our customers and facilitate future growth.”
Rebranded LDL invests to boost customer service and availabilty
NOW UNDER new management, furniture components distributor LDL has rebranded and implemented multiple changes to improve customer service and availability. The improvements include a new rebrand introduced under the direction of directors Ross Darroch and Simon Noble (pictured left to right), who bought out previous managing director and owner Simon Ogden in September last year. Ogden remains as a minority shareholder.
Over the past 12 months, LDL says that it has implemented a more sophisticated planning, delivery and communications system to enhance the customer experience. The new improvements include an advanced modelling and forecasting system to ensure that LDL always has stock available and an advanced communications system that uses AI to identify who is calling and puts them straight through to the right person. A new ticketing system has also helped to speed up order completion.
“During the past 12 months we have undergone a number of developments which includes a whole new rebrand, which we love as it really shows our vision for the future,” said Darroch. “We’ve also been able to add to the breadth of products and services that we can offer to our customers as customer care is key to everything that we do. Now, we are continuing to grow on our journey where everyone can benefit from the services and products which we provide.” “We are always working with our business partners to provide the best solutions ensuring everything is made easy. The new technologies we have introduced have further improved communication with our customers from response times to planning projects and orders.” Noble added: “We recognise that our customer’s brand is just as important as our own. It does not matter what scenario our customers may have – we can provide a solution and are constantly pushing through boundaries to ensure that we continue to improve our services all of the time.”
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