His Royal Highness The Duke of Kent officially opened the new modern 100,000 sq ft warehouse and manufacturing facilities at A Perry & Co (Hinges) Ltd, highlighting its continuing success aligned with the government’s Midlands’ Engine initiative. The new facility now gives A. Perry a total operational warehousing capacity of over 140,000 sq ft.
The plaque unveiling ceremony marked the £4 million investment by the independent, family-owned, British company, which has been established in Cradley Heath, West Midlands for the past 92 years, working with prestigious customers including Buckingham Palace, Wembley Stadium, HS2, Aardman Animations, and supplying the studios that created Star Wars, Harry Potter and Doctor Who. Perry recently signed a licensing agreement with Aardmann Animations to design and create a Shaun the Sheep sculpture in conjunction with the Studios.
The company was established in 1925 by Arthur Perry, grandfather and great-grandfather to the current third and fourth-generation family members who own and run the business. Serving over 2,500 trade customers, it has a current turnover in excess of £12 million. Perry continues to innovate and diversify into new markets, alongside implementing a bespoke lean management process into its distribution and manufacturing processes.
The investment will potentially create a further 20 plus jobs in addition to the 15 that have already been fulfilled recently. In 2015, the leading manufacturer and supplier of hinges, hardware, ironmongery, chain and threaded bar entered the ‘Top 50’ growth companies in the Sandwell area and continues to remain there, expanding by over 20 per cent in the last 12 months.
Renowned in the trade for its high-quality, good value products such as hinges, threaded bar, ironmongery and field gate lines, the company is also making significant strides into the equestrian, garden centre and architectural ironmongery sectors, with some new innovative products having an extended life guarantee of up to 25 years – unprecedented in its sector.
Perry has a history of delivering quality. Starting in 1925 by manufacturing gutter brackets, hinges and fixings, Perry went on to manufacture and supply components for World War II ammunition boxes, Lancaster bombers and more recently Harrier jump jet landing pads. Threaded bar from Perry was used in the construction of Watford Football Ground, the new Wembley Stadium and during the early development stages of HS2.
Guy Perry, group managing director, who joined the family firm in 1981, says, “We are honoured the Duke of Kent has opened our new distribution, warehouse and manufacturing facilities, marking 92 years of continued growth and expansion for our company. While other companies within the industry are retracting or standing still, Perry is continuing to offer full-time employment and apprenticeships to local people. We are consolidating our leadership position in our traditional markets while diversifying into new sectors with exciting developments and innovations. Our recent partnership with Aardmann is a significant example of this and we have several further major products and new range launches next year and many more planned over the next few years.”
He continues, “With over 20 per cent growth this year, and a similar increase predicted for 2018 and 2019, with developing new routes to market and our expansion into mainland Europe, our new facilities future proof us and allow us to capitalise on these and further opportunities, reassuring our customers Perry doesn’t do boring!”