Jonathan Haslam, managing director of the Blackpool-based firm, talks to Paul Braithwaite about the origins of the company, how it has changed to lead the market, what it is doing now and, more to the point, why he intends it should be around for the next 50 years.
Gilberts, the Blackpool-based grilles, diffusers, smoke/fire dampers, VAV and natural ventilating manufacturer, is 50 years old. In this age, this is something to be celebrated.

The firm was founded by Gilbert Haslam, father of the present managing director Jonathan Haslam.

Gil emigrated to Canada when he was younger and came back with the idea of importing grilles for warm air domestic central heating which was fashionable with house builders in the '60s. He returned to the UK and began a sheet metal working business while importing the grilles.

But the quality of the imports was not as good as he wanted - one container-load was mostly damaged - and he had to re-engineer much of the merchandise so that it was up to the standard he had promised his customers.

So he decided to make the grilles himself, bought a press and employed a toolmaker. Compare this with today's staff of 275!

When warm air central heating began to fall out of favour, Gil changed tack and began to make commercial grilles and diffusers for air conditioning. The Marton factory still stands on the original site. However, the buildings have been extended as needed. For instance, the canteen is built on the yard where Jonathan used to play as a kid and the house in which he grew up has been turned into archive storage and conference rooms.

There is a second factory about 18 miles away with new offices alongside. At the moment both factories manufacture specific product groups in their entirety as well as component parts. But Jon is working on a gradual plan that is re-organising the manufacturing centres and component production. This will cut the transfer of materials between the plants.

The business too has changed. Grilles and diffusers have been joined by fire/smoke control dampers, VAV terminals and, the latest addition, a range of products for the natural ventilation market.

Expanding the product portfolio has worked. Jon, who stepped up as managing director two years ago after a spell as vice chairman, boasts record years for 2008 and 2009 with a turnover of £17.6 million. He expects this could move up to £20 million in the next three to four years in spite of the recession.

There is a profit-sharing scheme for all employees. And across the factory there are 28 world class organisation teams of up to 10 people and they are rewarded when they come up with money-saving ideas which come to fruition.

Now, he laughs, he is looking for the next market to join to keep up the growth.

One of the company's strengths is a tooling and engineering section. Here Gilberts' toolmakers design and make all types of press tools, special purpose machines, jigs and fixtures for the factory and for external clients.

Extensive range

'It allows us to be quick off the mark to manufacture an extensive range of well-engineered products at competitive prices,' he says.

'The skills which these men have are dying in the UK as a lot of tooling has moved offshore although the tide may finally be turning and the tooling repair/ rework market is still robust.'

Jon seems determined to retain this skill base and has been training apprentices for this side of the business - and not simply because it makes a profit.

The Cleveleys site boasts a test room as part of a strong research and development section. This is run by Carl Pendleton who has been with the company for 21 years. The test area is designed to meet, or exceed, ISO 5219 and provides exceptional versatility in room arrangement which, combined with the air handing unit and ductwork set-up, allows a controlled air flow to be supplied through numerous sizes and types in different, floor, wall and ceiling mounting positions, says Jon.

One of the latest patented louvre blades used for the natural ventilation inlets and outlets is a product of the R&D section. There is potential for natural ventilation louvres to leak in poor weather conditions so these have special ridges and drainage channels to ensure any ingress of rainwater is captured and expelled.

'Drainage is the secret of high-performance louvres,' says Jon.

The company has done well in this sector with this business now representing some 15 per cent of the total with, says Jon, the potential to grow to 25 per cent in the future.

Jon also discussed the large format natural ventilation dampers which were precision-engineered and assembled at the factory.

'Because of the way the products have been built, the cold bridge issue has been eliminated. The damper when closed is as good as a double glazed window.'

The Building Schools for the Future project required Gilberts to make units which could replace double glazed units but retain the same insulation levels and this is what the company came up with.

Jon is adamant. Years ago, he looked at the possibility of manufacturing in China and in Eastern Europe but he believes the ability to make the products alongside the R&D unit and with the toolmakers able to tweak tooling virtually immediately, continuing to make products in the UK is crucial to the firm's ability to grow, and to stay at the forefront of the trade.

Over time, much of the labour has been engineered out of the manufacturing process, making it cheaper and therefore more on a par with imports while retaining the Gilberts' quality. And, of course, modern technology means less metal is used in the manufacturing process.

(Gilberts uses 650 tonnes of bespoke aluminium extrusion profiles in a year).

'While we want to engineer cost out of our products, we draw the line at making a product which we consider is too flimsy for the job it will have to perform.'

The policy seems to work. Gilbert's has as much as 20 per cent of the market for grilles and diffusers. And recently it introduced a new swirl diffuser.

In the mid-1990s the company installed a powder coating machine and this has recently been refurbished. As well as updating the software, the machine uses about 20 per cent less coating and 18 per cent less gas. Further, all excess powder is collected, filtered and reused automatically. The white coating is applied automatically but other colours have to be loaded manually. There is also a small wet paint installation.

The company has four salespeople in the south, three in the north and two agencies, one across the south east and one in Scotland.

There are also two separate sales teams, one deals with the grilles and diffusers and the other with the natural ventilation.

James Gordon and Herbie Simpson both specialised in natural ventilation and this is their remit.

Big enough market

'The market is easily big enough for two specialist salespeople.'

And Jon reckons it is necessary to maintain the sales and technical teams at full strength even in a recession as, again, Gilberts is ready to satisfy the market as it comes back after the recession.

The company has its own transport, four x 7.5 tonne lorries and two vans. This is backed by carriers where necessary but Jon prefers to work with his own lorries.

'Our drivers know what they are dealing with and handle the equipment appropriately.'

'In some regards, we are simply a manufacturer and because of the way we are set up we have the flexibility to change with the market. For the moment, as well as the grilles and diffusers, we have the natural ventilation market but I would like to think we will be ready for the next big market.'

IT, too, comes into the equation. 'Just as we need the toolmakers, we need the latest software, such as Autocad and Solidworks, in the drawing office and the training to go with it to make sure we are at the cutting edge.'

Some eight years ago, the company invested in a new ERP manufacturing IT system and this has been kept up to date. It will estimate a job, send off the tender, convert this into an order and now carry it through to shop floor manufacturing cells. Again, says, Jon, it is a case of keeping up with the market.

He reckons the on-going investment is keeping Gilberts abreast, or maybe just ahead, of the competition.

Most recently this is because of the work of Dave Matthews, the operations director, who joined the firm at the same time as Jon became managing director.

He has been responsible for driving this technology advance throughout the company and down to the shopfloor.

'This has resulted in better control today than even a year ago. No more running down to the shopfloor to find where a job is or whether it has been finished or not. Today, the computer will tell us where each project is in the system and flag up any bottlenecks or delays.'

Jon adds Gilberts has struggled with this in the past because of the hundreds of different products and thousands of permutations.

The spin off for the company is better control of production flow, stock and the ability to better answer customer enquiries.

And, Jon candidly admits, it should mean fewer late deliveries.

As for training, the IT has made that visible too. All health and safety training is logged.

Managers can see where the gaps are and they can show the health and safety guys what has been achieved since the last visit.

Mike Wills, Jon's half-brother, is sales director. He joined the company in 1988 and became sales director at the same time as Jon became managing director.
Mike has built a good sales team and 'it's a successful family business and both of us want it to continue successfully'.

Software selection package

Its latest innovation is a software package for the selection of natural ventilation products.

It accepts a number of build scenarios, outside air temperatures, fascias, storeys, and will calculate the airflow needed and schedule the equipment required. 'It says Gilberts has thought about the products it is making. It says 'look what Gilberts can do'.'

The company has designed this software in partnership with the University of Strathclyde and it has taken three years.

It is on its third development version and is finally ready for release.

Jon has lots of questions about the next big product but no answers. However, it may be a bolder leap than from grilles and diffusers to natural ventilation.

In the meantime he believes the company is ready: for the upturn; the next big product; and for a partnership with a controls firm.

Looks to me like Gilberts is set fair for its centenary!