Vimpex Managing Director James Jones
Vimpex has officially opened its new manufacturing production facility in Great Wakering, Essex.
At the event, which brought together an array of fire safety professionals including installers, distributors, OEM partners and members of the emergency services, local MPs James Dudderidge and Sir David Amess paid tribute to company founder Viv Jones, his family and team on the success of the company so far and its contribution to employment and business in the area.
Managing Director James Jones told PSI: “We really want to have a platform from which to grow and that will come from manufacturing our own products. Our belief is that if we can manufacture more of the items we sell then this will be complementary to everything else that we distribute. Furthermore, because we had a blank canvas (only seven months ago the factory area was part of a warehouse) we have been able to design all of the production cells so that everything flows efficiently and is exactly how we want it. All in all, the new facility allows us to manufacture kit much more competitively for the market than we could if we had to import it.
“We are open to business from OEMs and for panel manufacturers who might not want to produce their own systems but want something branded or bespoke and we have the footprint here to grow over the coming years without needing too much further investment – in fact we aim to get our turnover to £10m in five years. From little acorns big British oaks do grow!
“We are now in control of our own destiny when it comes to new products. For example we take feedback from installers and because we are independent and manufacture our own products we can be more flexible and turn an idea into a product much quicker than before.”
According to James the company’s new Identifire range of fire, security and building accessories such as remote lamps, sounders and buzzers will be of specific interest to installers because they can be fitted either surface mount or flush: “It’s the same as fitting a light switch!” he says.
See a video of the event here
