Bespoke door manufacturer and BWF-CERTIFIRE Scheme member Leaderflush Shapland has closed with the loss of 394 jobs.
The company which had sites in Langley Mill in Derbyshire and Mansfield in Nottinghamshire, closed over the holiday period. Of the 426 people employed by Leaderflush Shapland, 394 have been notified of redundancy with 32 retained to help the company wind down.
The company is one of seven UK divisions of Laidlaw Interiors Group, which went into administration in December. Administrators Deloitte said buyers for the other six divisions have now been found, saving 527 jobs.
Richard Hawes, partner at Deloitte and joint administrator commented that, “Despite the best efforts of the company, and ourselves, it was simply not possible to secure a buyer for this division.The Group has been under financial pressure for some time, restructuring in 2014, and Leaderflush Shapland has suffered significant on-going losses making trading unsustainable.”
Iain McIlwee, BWF Chief Executive, also commented on the news,
“This was a significant company, a well-known and respected UK manufacturer, employing over 400 people – the impact of losing a brand like this will be felt across the joinery industry, but it is the families that we must think of first. I am sure stories will emerge over the coming weeks and months that will give us greater insight and perhaps some lessons to learn, but right now it is the impact on the communities that is most upsetting.”
Mr McIlwee also called for a clearer long-term strategy if manufacturing is to fulfil its potential in creating sustainable wealth and jobs in the UK.
“Beyond this, it stands as a reminder that whilst we may see headline growth in construction, the benefits of this growth are not always shared equally or in a timely fashion through the whole of the supply chain. It should also serve as a warning to Government that UK Manufacturing needs to be nurtured and not taken for granted – it is still very tough out here and inflationary pressures remain on cost and the threat of imports is ever-present. We have seen knee-jerk reaction to the decimation of the steel industry, too little too late. We need a clearer long-term strategy if manufacturing is to fulfil its potential in creating sustainable wealth and jobs in the UK, this needs to be more than a blinkered focus on export intensive industries.”
BWF has been in dialogue the local MP, Nigel Mills, thanking him for the work being done in support of Leaderflush Shapland and the workers at the Langley Mill factory, but restating that more must be done to support a fair balance if we are to retain manufacturing in the UK. BWF offered further assistance such as promoting any proposed job fairs and supporting any work Mr Mills MP was doing to encourage plans to save the site.
