'From Bilston with love' as ACT celebrates 20 years in business

A bespoke furniture manufacturer is celebrating its 20th birthday in style after finding out it has supplied its hand-crafted desks to international ambassadors all over the world.

ACT Furniture, which is set to turnover £1m in 2009, has discovered recently that products carefully made in its 16,000 sq ft factory in the heart of Bilston have been sent thousands of miles away to be used in embassies in Morocco and Moscow to name but a few.

This international exposure is just another example of the company’s reputation for providing ‘furniture with a difference’ and comes at a time when this unique selling point is helping it fight back against declining sales.

Stephen Wilkinson, who formed the company in 1989 with current Directors Stephen Clarke, Paul Edge, Guy Marsh and Stephen Winnall, explained:

“This year, without doubt, there have been some of the worst trading conditions we have ever seen and, like many companies in the West Midlands, we’ve had to make some tough decisions in making a couple of people redundant and introducing short-time working for a month or so.

“But we are still here, fighting, competing and, in the last couple of weeks, have noticed an upturn in sales again and it appears the first green shoots of a recovery could be starting to push their way through.”

He continued: “ACT has been going for twenty years now, after the company we were all working for decided to move away from furniture making and concentrate its efforts on fruit machine cabinets.

“When we realised that our existing customers were not receiving the same level of quality and service, we knew there was an opportunity for us to do something about it and we quickly rented a factory in Upper Villiers Street in Wolverhampton and started production.

“A lot has happened in the following two decades, but the core principles of why we launched remain the same – expert craftsmanship, bespoke furniture and quality finish, supported by excellent service. This is what will help us emerge from the downturn stronger than ever before.”

ACT moved to its existing Salop Street site in 2000, which now provides extensive workshop, office and showroom facilities.
From here, all furniture is hand finished and polished by skilled cabinet makers, using a blend of traditional methods and modern ideas to create anything from a small coffee table or storage unit to office desks and boardroom tables that can seat over 40 people.

As well as its bespoke furniture, ACT produces its Nimbus and Stratus ranges and these can be found in court rooms and chambers, across education and health departments and throughout multi-national businesses across the UK.

Sue Lambert, Sales Director, picked up the story:

“Working through agreed dealers means we don’t always know exactly where our furniture is going. In addition to the contract for the international embassies, we’ve also completed a high quality boardroom with media presentation storage for a London private bank, who wanted it made in veneers from the London Plane tree.

“This type of tree has been planted along hundreds of pavements in the Capital since the 1600s to reduce smog and pollution.”
She continued: “However, not a single London Plane tree was cut down to achieve this! Like all veneers and hardwoods we use, they were sourced from sustainable forests, which is just one of the ways in which we can monitor our impact on the environment.

“Going forward, we want to maximise our ability to do things differently and whilst we are expecting to see growth in public sector contracts, we are also keen to make inroads into the growing trend for home working where we can offer every product imaginable.”

For further information, please contact Stephen Wilkinson on 01902 490273 or visit www.actfurniture.com