EXECUTIVE REPORT
Still in manufacture, LFI's wooden ladders are built to last.
Reach for the sky
Ladders are long, dangerous things from the last millennium that even window cleaners don't use any more, right? A recent trip to LFI in Newent, Gloucestershire, soon rid Andy of such wrongheaded notions…
LFI - or ‘Ladder and Fencing Industries’, as it was formerly known - is no ordinary ladder manufacturer. Firstly, there can’t be many of them that are bona fide landmarks. Secondly, the company has been in the ladder game for over 70 years. Thirdly, its manufacturing renown brought the Queen Mum and Princess Margaret to visit - as pictured. And, lastly, it’s very much a company that is going places, with products that are fit for 21st century height access.
science teacher. I didn’t intend to join the company. However, the operations director passed away suddenly, and dad said he needed somebody with my engineering skills. After some deliberation I decided this was the right move.”
Onwards and upwards
LFI still manufactures traditional wooden ladders, along with steel and aluminium - the only manufacturer in the UK to still do so. They've come a long way from a shed in Gloucestershire to the present facility, so how has this growth been achieved?
“It was timber ladders and steps to begin with. We bought Gough Ladders and Hyde & Clements in the 1980s and we acquired Chapman Alloy Products in the 90s, which was when we started making aluminium ladders,” says Ben. “We used to sell around 50,000 wooden ladders a year, but it’s probably a third of that now. The market has plateaued, but they’re still used in scaffolding, they can withstand a bit more abuse and they last for ages.
The Queen Mother and a young Princess Margaret review a selection of wooden products with original MD, Trevor Lane.
The first thing LFI visitors will notice is the humungous vintage crane in the yard, which is by far the most visible structure on the Newent skyline - a hangover from the days when it was used to haul raw timber. There is nothing antiquated about youthful MD, Ben Walker. His background is in teaching, so what led him to this position and what is the company story?
“It was started by my great grandfather Trevor Lane in 1947,” Ben explains. “He was initially working in his shed, making pole ladders for local builders with timber from the Forest of Dean. As demand grew he started sourcing it from Sweden instead - mainly because the timber was straighter, had fewer knots and was available in greater volumes.
“It’s always been a family business. His daughter looked after it after he retired in the 1980s, then my great uncle ran it with my grandad for a while. My dad took it over in the mid-90s and I joined in 2012. I had a degree in mechanical engineering and had trained as a
“Alongside the pole ladder we now have our market-leading TuFF Steel ladder, which has been the ladder of choice in the construction and scaffolding market for a number of years now - you'll see them on sites all over the world! This is a ladder made specifically for use in scaffolding, it’s an industrial product built to withstand heavy use on construction projects.”
Ship-shape
With an obvious stake in the construction sector, and the sector itself being slowed by the pandemic, recent trading must have been a bit of a rollercoaster ride. How has the business managed?
Although decommissioned, the LFI crane remains a fixture in the local landscape. 24
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44
