PRODUCT INNOVATION


A creative approach to problem-solving


Corby-based Creative Ironmongery specialises in designing and creating ‘problem-solving products that save money and deliver exceptional performance, even in the most challenging environments’. The company claims to be ‘revolutionising standards in architectural ironmongery’, and, owner, Alan Rees, explains, prides itself on ‘addressing challenges’ – from customising an existing product for a particular application, to developing a bespoke component that other companies might ‘walk away from’. HEJ’s editor, Jonathan Baillie, met up with him to find out more.


With today’s NHS under considerable financial pressure, cost constraints – and the resulting ‘value engineering’ – may at times result in the selection of cheaper, more ‘functional’ products for healthcare settings, in preference to more meticulously engineered components that, although costing more initially, could soon ‘pay for themselves’ via a host of different benefits to patients, staff, and the care environment. In mental healthcare settings, a really well-designed ‘bespoke’ product – anything from a bedroom door to a furniture item – could also significantly reduce risk of harm, and even save lives. Equally, a stronger, more robust design – of anything from a window clutch to a soap dispenser – will enable the item to better withstand abuse and attack, and thus last longer, while simultaneously saving time on maintenance.


Cheapest by no means best Alan Rees, the MD and owner of Creative Ironmongery – which sells many of its products into acute and mental healthcare settings – is generally strongly against opting for the lowest cost option, as he explained when I met him. He said: “I believe far too many purchasing decisions today are based purely on initial cost. Many manufacturers know the


constraints that their buyers are working within, and thus deliberately develop products that come in at a certain price point. Then they will wax lyrical about the product’s good points, while ignoring its shortcomings. I understand why buyers make the decisions they do, but it makes little sense to me that their thinking is so often short-term. What really frustrates me though is that even when a product has failed, the same item is used to replace it. Why give it another chance? “In architectural ironmongery, and particularly in mental healthcare facilities, a failed product can have life-threatening repercussions, yet many estates managers continue making the same mistakes when sourcing replacements. They’ll often be told there isn’t an alternative, and may not have the detailed knowledge to challenge this. I’ve lost count of the times I’ve been approached with a very tentative query – would it be possible to develop something to address a particular problem? It might be tricky, it might be straightforward, or it might already be in our range, but it’s rarely something we can’t sort out.”


Traditionally trained


When I visited Creative Ironmongery’s Corby base, it rapidly became clear that as a traditionally trained engineer, who


Alan Rees of Creative Ironmongery.


honed his early skills during an engineering apprenticeship in South Wales, Alan Rees is both a problem- solver, and a firm believer in


manufacturing architectural ironmongery products characterised by an attention to detail and craftsmanship that he feels are in short supply today. He also equally enjoys adapting existing products – for instance vision panels – to enhance their performance, durability, functionality, and longevity, and, in the process, addressing what he views as deficiencies in their design, and, developing new components ‘from scratch’.


Creative Ironmongery’s production and office facility in Corby, Northamptonshire.


Later in my visit, he showed me a number of Creative Ironmongery’s biggest-selling products, explained how the company’s engineering expertise had been harnessed in developing them, and highlighted the material properties and meticulous design and manufacture that he says give them their superior performance. Firstly, however, he put his business philosophy and custom engineering expertise into context by discussing his earlier career, and explaining how he went on to establish Creative Ironmongery in 2017, preceded


May 2019 Health Estate Journal 67


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