New product line sees soft furniture manufacturer create 70 jobs

Stuart McDonald, managing director of Herbert Parkinson Ltd, revealed the future plans as he showed the town’s MP Jake Berry around the company’s new £3m ‘bespoke’ goods department.

McDonald is now in the final stage of recruiting the 70 new staff needed for its full roll-out by the end of August, with 20 vacancies still available.

The owner of the John Lewis Partnership has invested the £3m in the Harvest Mill factory in Monton Road over 18 months, creating the highly-specialised service making individually-tailored curtains and blinds.

McDonald showed Northern Powerhouse MP Jake Berry round the site yesterday, introducing him to the ‘partners’, as John Lewis call its employees, and revealing its new £10,000 quality laboratory.

He said: “We are now in our final drive to recruit the remaining 20 of the 70 people needed. We need enthusiastic individuals who are keen to learn. We are currently developing a new soft furnishings line to complement our existing product range for launch next year but I cannot give any more details.

“It is a further demonstration of the confidence John Lewis has in the Darwen site and its continuing investment here. I expect to see further recruitment of partners running into double figures in 2019,” said McDonald.

Berry met staff and was given a coaching session on a new £30,000 blind stitch hemmer by trainer Mick Fallon, who said: “I think we could make a sewing machinist out of him. We can train almost anybody.”