Express & Star

Royal opening for £4m extension

There will be a Royal opening for a Cradley Heath company's new modern 100,000 sq ft warehouse and manufacturing facilities, which has involved a £4m investment, later this month.

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The Duke of Kent is officially opening the extension at A Perry & Co (Hinges) in Doulton Road on September 21.

It gives A Perry a total operational warehousing capacity of more than 140,000 sq ft.

The plaque unveiling ceremony will mark the recent investment by the independent, family-owned company, which has been established in Cradley Heath, for the past 92 years.

Its customers have included 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.

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 more than 2,500 trade customers, it has a current annual turnover of more than £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 more than 20 jobs in addition to the 15 that have already been filled 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 more than 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..

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 Second World War ammunition boxes, Lancaster bombers and more recently Harrier jump jet landing pads.

Threaded bar from Perry were 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, said: “We are honoured the Duke of Kent is opening 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, and reassuring our customers Perry doesn’t do boring.”