Furniture firm’s move to north Wales was silver lining
THE man behind a furniture company for the super-rich and famous celebrities like Madonna and David Bowie says his move to “extraordinary” Wales is what has accelerated growth.
Mark Boddington, who is part of the famous Boddington’s beer family, is the managing director of Silverlining Furniture in Wrexham.
Last week he spoke at the North Wales Means Business Conference which celebrated the success of the 20Twenty Business Growth and ION Leadership programmes.
He explained why he turned his back on the family beer dynasty to pursue his dream of creating bespoke furniture and why other firms should follow him to Wales.
He said: “I set up the business at 21 and didn’t know anything, but I built it to the point where we were producing furniture for Russian oligarchs and celebrities, including David Bowie and Madonna.
“Sometimes it’s about luck and opportunity; I was once sat on a plane and got chatting to the man next to me. He took my business card and I thought nothing of it until 18 months later he called and told me he was Kevin Costner’s architect.
“The next thing you know we are creating pieces for superyachts, and our clients are billionaires and among the 1,000 richest people in the world.”
He added: “We have created furniture that costs upwards of £100,000 but it was our move to Wales that saw us become a gazelle business (a high-growth company that has been increasing its revenues by at least 20% annually for four years or more) and reach a new level.
“We have done it through innovation, exporting and investing in people, which is hugely important – we will be spending about £180,000 on training next year, because we need to develop skills for the future.
“That and the move to north Wales will all contribute to further growth. Why? Wales is extraordinary, very proactive, supportive and innovative. I would advise people to move to Wales”
Mr Boddington set up the first Silverlining workshop in a disused cowshed in his home county of Cheshire. The name for the company came from his early use of inlaid silver in furniture.
When the company outgrew its Cheshire home it moved across the border to the Wrexham Industrial Estate, where it has continued to grow.
Mr Boddington said they plan to increase their workforce from 86 to 130 people by 2022.
Pieces by Silverlining can take more than 18 months to deliver and the company has an order book full for more than a year.
Examples of the unique work includes horse hair braided into speakers and leather which is embossed, finished and patterned for a floor in Singapore.
Employees and managers who took part in both schemes and reaped the rewards also took to the stage to explain how their businesses had benefited from 20Twenty and ION over past years.
Among them was Johanna Cooke, Company Secretary at AN Richards Ltd commercial recovery and repair in Froncysyllte, near Llangollen.
The firm has been at the heart of the motor trade in Wales for more than a century but finding a worklife balance was becoming a problem for the family-run management team.
“When I joined the 20Twenty programme we were – and still are – a profitable company, but the line between work and home had become invisible,” said Mrs Cooke.
“Success isn’t just down to the bottom line; my wish was for a better balance for my family and I, and 20Twenty helped me to achieve that.”
The 20Twenty Business Growth Programme and ION Leadership offer a range of leadership and management qualifications. Places on both are up to 70% funded by the European Social Fund (ESF) via Welsh Government.