On Friday 15th September, Madeira UK celebrated both the opening of their brand-new premises at Barker Business Park near Ripon and their 40th Anniversary. At inception, the Company supplied retailers with consumer threads for home and hobbies, followed by the distribution of industrial embroidery threads and supplies to the textile and garment decoration industry.
Karen Burrows, Chairman and Andrew Maylor, Managing Director at Madeira UK, welcomed special guests Martin Müller, Head of Global Finance and HR and Sebastian Schade, Head of Global Sales and Marketing, who had travelled from Madeira’s headquarters in Freiburg, Germany to attend the event. They were joined by suppliers, distributors, and guests from across the textile industry.
International manufacturer Madeira has a long history, with more than 100 years of experience producing high-quality embroidery thread used by commercial brands for industrial applications across a range of sectors from uniforms, promotional goods and school wear to sportswear, corporate fashion and more. The company has nine subsidiaries in Europe, the USA and Asia with a further 57 partners, collectively distributing to over 85 countries. Madeira UK was established in 1983 in Knaresborough and has been located near Ripon, North Yorkshire since 2005. The 31-strong UK team are among 400+ employees around the world.
With business in the UK growing steadily year on year and the existing warehouse bursting at the seams, the time was right to invest and expand for the future. Keen to remain on Barker Business Park, Melmerby, close to the A1M major trunk road, a site for the new building was agreed upon.
Then the Pandemic hit. Unfortunately, as with many projects at this time, severe delays resulted.
Plans had been to relocate to the new building in 2021. Instead, groundwork only commenced on May 25th, 2022, just as the Ukraine War began, taking its toll on pricing and construction materials.
The build continued and the official handover of the keys took place on 3rd February 2023. Transitioning to the new premises whilst continuing the business meant all personnel were involved. It was all hands on deck to move the enormous amount of stock, luckily only around the corner and set up the new technology and offices. The Company closed for just one day, on 3rd March and all was ready for trading to restart on Monday 6th March.
In line with Madeira’s sustainable ethos, it was important that the project adhered to BREEAM standards for best practices in sustainable building design, construction, and operation. The Contractor’s earthworks package meant that no waste was left on the site, a ‘cut and fill’ model was implemented allowing the ground to be levelled using the existing soil and aggregate.
The spacious new premises offer significant improvements, the 2,327m2 ground floor warehouse has 2.5 times the stock capacity and enables the introduction of new product lines.
There is a dedicated space for Madeira training courses promoting professional development and knowledge sharing for commercial embroiderers.
Processes have been streamlined by a new digitally enhanced Warehouse Management System which in turn has increased efficiencies. The site also features a 452m2 first-floor office suite, motion-activated lights throughout conserving energy, electric charging points and covered cycle spaces. All working towards a carbon-neutral future.
Quote from Karen Burrows UK Chairman
“The new building was almost a mirage as completion dates moved further and further away. We are delighted to be able to enjoy the necessary additional space and develop the business further and really appreciate the Madeira team spirit which made the move and settling in a great success”.
Quote from Andrew Maylor UK Managing Director
“We are fortunate to have a wonderful team of people working at Madeira and this fabulous new base will provide the structure for us to grow the business and continue to supply our loyal customers with the products they love whilst maintaining our high service levels. It’s an exciting future ahead!”.
