2019 saw some big changes for the business, which have allowed us to grow from strength to strength. The last year saw our team grow from 14 to 22, our turnover grew by 38% and we produced an extraordinary 1,516,992 square metres of insulation!
Relocation
Perhaps our biggest change in 2019 was our move to Lincoln from our previous headquarters in Tuxford, Nottinghamshire. This saw us move our entire operations to our new home on Pioneer Way; a five acre site which was previously occupied by Lincolnshire Co-op.
It was a very sad time when the decision was made to close the food distribution centre on the site and many people lost their jobs, so it’s been great to bring new life back to the site and create new jobs in this part of the city.
The new site has a warehouse, offices, and delivery and loading facilities, meaning that we can increase the amount of product we manufacture on-site. It’s been a really exciting time and transforming the site into a hub for growing businesses has been really rewarding.
And it hasn’t just been SuperFOIL that’s seen the benefits of the new site. We partnered with web development agency, Orisel, earlier this year and the site has also become home to them, we’ve launched a new self-storage company on the site, and Polish food company, Spizarnia, has also joined us, meaning that the site is once again involved with food distribution.
Getting SuperFOIL products out there
2019 has also been a great year for getting our products recognised. In October, we had a further three products recognised by Local Authority Building Control (LABC). LABC Assured is a certification process proving compliance with building regulations and standards, and our multi foil products, SF60 and SF19+, and radiant barrier product, SFTV, were awarded with the certification. Receiving the accreditation was a real achievement for SuperFOIL as it means that all local authorities can use our products with confidence, knowing their performance and suitability has been rigorously checked and approved by LABC.
We’ve also been a part of some huge national projects throughout 2019, one of these being the new Royal Papworth Hospital. Construction of this incredible hospital stalled last year over fire safety concerns with the insulation that had been used. We were proud to put the project back on track by supplying the project with 5,500㎡ of high performance, non-combustible SFNC insulation. In May this year, the hospital opened its doors after four years of construction work.
The hospital has 2,300 rooms, five operating theatres, five catheter laboratories and two hybrid theatres. It has around 300 beds, including a 46-bed critical care unit and 24 day beds. It’s an incredible building that’ll help save lives so we’re very pleased to have been able to play a role in its completion.
What’s next?
Looking forward to 2020, Brexit is a concern for SuperFOIL as 20% of our sales are to the EU. We’ve taken steps to mitigate the damage it might cause us, but it’s already cost the business and slowed down our markets and held back further growth. We still hold onto hope that we can stop Brexit and get on as we should be doing, but maybe that’s wishful thinking at this point.
But despite this, we hope to see SuperFOIL become even more successful in 2020 than it has this year. We have a lot to look forward to as we work towards making SuperFOIL a household name within insulation, as well as growing the company, creating new jobs and putting Lincoln on the map.
Happy New Year from all of us at SuperFOIL, and here’s to a prosperous 2020!
