Barbara Fitzsimons takes a trip to the Lincolnshire-based facility of Wren Kitchens, the factory responsible for the door panels of the company’s kitchen cabinets.
Wren Kitchens was founded in 2009. The company’s management team has over 35 years of experience within the kitchen market in both the UK and the USA, and is headed by managing director, Armando Sanchez, a man immensely proud of his company.
Wren employs 1,700 people in total, with 826 specifically in manufacturing. The company has plenty of plans for growth, having opened seven showrooms in 2014 alone, and plan for this to pick up even more pace in 2015. In only five years of business Wren has opened 52 stores.
My visit to the factory in Scunthorpe, North Lincolnshire took me over 500,000 sq ft of a factory packed with machinery from all over the world. The manufacturing process itself begins in
one of two ‘mega-factories’ – the other being based in East Yorkshire.
The melamine-faced boards start on the cutting machine to be trimmed to size – five sheets at a time. Next, the edging is applied using a unique glue system, which is, as Sanchez testifies, a product that gives Wren the edge over other manufacturers who use hot melt systems, as it provides a much higher heat and water resistance.
The automated paint line is also an entirely unique process. At 230 metres long, it was designed by Wren’s own engineers and their European partners. Wren uses a reverse rolling system to provide the smoothest possible finish. The pigmented high gloss paint is positively charged to give a perfect
- The rigorous quality control process
finish, and apparently will not discolour.
The drying process is long and slow, using a combination of air, ultra-violet light, and a penetrating white light, followed by a very careful quality control process done by hand. Two coats of water based film protection is applied, which is new to the industry and is not removed until the product is delivered and unpackaged, to ensure perfect protection. As Wren are very conscious of the environment, this film will dissolve in water.
For more information on The Wren Way, click here.
