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Read Full ArticleJade Engineering, the supplier of window fabrication machinery and tooling supply and repair, had a busy 2024 solving problems for existing and new customers who were moving to new systems. The Fabricator looks back at a turbulent but successful year.
The directors and founders of the firm, Sean Mackey and Adam Jones made one huge decision – one that is not always easy to take when the company has become your lifeblood…they handed the reigns to a managing director. Gareth Davies took the role, which has now allowed Mackey and Jones the opportunity not to be quite so hands on in the day to day running, which meant they could focus on that problem solving role for customers and for the business itself.
Jade’s problems
The company has instigated improved manufacturing efficiencies for its customers and helped find competitive edge in product offerings and managed changes in component supply and quality standards. However, Mackey says: “18 months ago we invested in a new 30,000sq.ft unit just around the corner from our existing base, yet for the first nine months of that commitment we did not have the time or head space to coordinate such a massive move.”
Jones adds:. “The back end of 2023 and early 2024 was filled with firefighting. Duraflex had not long closed and we had a list of over 40 fabricators who had to swap their profile systems. We shipped 40 tonnes of steel tooling so all the fabricators on that list were back in business – but Jade’s factory move had not progressed an inch.”
Frustration
Both directors started to feel frustration They had been running the company in its current format for a decade and knew they had a solid foundation, a good network of contacts and a passion for their work which translated into beneficial solutions for their customers. To date, growth had occurred through acquisition, including the purchase of 50% of Kombimatec Machines in 2017. Now was the time to start taking the business to the next level.
Mackey says: “We recognised that we were guilty of spending too much time in the business and not enough actually working on the business. It was crucial that we brought in someone who could not only manage the factory move but more importantly, do so with an eye on the future growth of the business.”
“Taking on Gareth Davies was a key part of that, releasing us to spend less time on the day to day operations and more time out in the field generating opportunities and growing Jade’s client base.”
Corporate experience
Davies is used to dealing with complex systems – his last role managed both the outsourced administration of the civil service pension scheme and the Cabinet Office as a client. So, although he did not come from a door and fenestration background, he demonstrated corporate experience and a granular approach that were essential to taking Jade from a small owner-managed business to a more process driven SME.
Davies says: “Adam and Sean will always be the faces of Jade. They command a lot of respect in the industry. Giving them the space to harness and maximise those attributes for the good of both Jade and its customers, needs managing. There is so much more potential where the company’s own meticulous brand of engineering creativity can make a significant impact.
“We are close to opening this next chapter with the new factory opening scheduled to take place in early 2025.”
Next stage
The appointment of Davies has solved a big Jade problem leaving the company poised to launch itself into its next stage of growth. “We’ve yet to come across a problem that can’t be solved,” says Jones. “That kind of conundrum is what we thrive on. So no matter what the issue a fabricator might be wrestling with, we have a constant supply of sharpened pencils and blank notebooks to work through the solution.”
Picture: Jade Engineerings new managing director, Gareth Davies.
Article written by Cathryn Ellis
22nd January 2025