Origin, winner of the Product Innovation and Design category at The Manufacturer MX Awards, is the UK’s leading specialist manufacturer of bespoke aluminium bi-folding doors and windows. Despite the company’s global expansion to the US and Dubai, this manufacturer has remained true to its friendly cultured, family ethos, as The Manufacturer’s Tom St John discovered.
I set off from my West London home slightly later than planned, but the journey to High Wycombe isn’t a long one, so I’m not too concerned. Next thing I know, I’ve managed to arrive about half an hour late to Origin’s Hillbottom Road factory, right next to Adams Park, the home of Wycombe Wanderers. After having a bit of a Wycombe wander myself, due to a postcode error on my satnav which took me to a factory not belonging to Origin, (probably my fault on reflection) I arrive to the premises nervous – manufacturers are busy people after all, I’m bound to have annoyed someone by being this late.
It’s a lovely sunny morning – I’m a bit hot and flustered. ‘Set off earlier next time, you pillock,’ I say to myself. My internal mockery is interrupted when Victoria Brocklesby, Founder & COO of Origin walks through the door of the office that I’ve been taken to. She doesn’t appear in anyway annoyed by my tardiness – in fact she seems delighted to see me and greets me with a wide smile and firm handshake. I’m immediately put at ease.
A customer service focus
Victoria is incredibly enthusiastic about Origin and clearly used to being interviewed about the company – a great combination. The smile I was greeted with remains on her face for pretty much the duration of my time there.
“We’re celebrating our 20th anniversary this year,” she says as we take a walk on to the factory floor. “Back then, we started with one product, which was the bifold door. This was quite a new product to the marketplace at the time and came about from a customer service perspective. We wanted to make sure we delivered on time and in full to our customers – which we’ve done from the start. It really grew from there, we took that one product and added more and more, keeping the same philosophy and that same customer service offering.”
She continued: “We supply to business to business. We’re supplying to the likes of trade partners, builders, architects, developers, door and window companies and so on. We’ve kept that same ethos the whole way through and that’s really given us our growth, as well as all the innovation we do around the products, the processes, the people and the service offering. And all of that combined has gotten us to where we are now. Today, we manufacture many different products; two window products, sliding doors, bifold doors, garage doors, front doors – the list continues. And we’re continuing to innovate our product range even now.”
Design, digital and customer
What ensures that continuous product innovation is a tight gap between the engineers and Origin’s customers. There is constant dialogue, and it means that the design team looks at digital technology in a holistic way – it’s a great example of viewing digitalisation through the lens of the customer.
Lee Mounter is the Director of Business Analytics at Origin, and she joins us – the sound of machinery is audible from what sounds like a busy factory floor. Lee is extremely concerned that she’ll be struck down by a bout of ‘cameraphobia’ – an illness where very intelligent people suddenly forget how to speak when a camera is placed in their face. Trust me, it’s a thing. It soon transpires that Lee needn’t have worried, as she very eloquently explains the “closed loop” between design, digital and customer.
“Our design department is actually very tech savvy,” says Lee. “But the key is that we use technology a lot in the process of design, through to manufacturing and out into distribution to our customers. The entire process is very digital. The engineers are obviously very creative and clever, but also it’s a closed loop – they’re getting feedback from our customers all the time about what the market needs. Actually getting the idea down to manufacturing, into the nuts and bolts, is where we find all the digitalisation really does help.”
Make mistakes, learn, innovate
Victoria then gives a more general reason why Origin was recognised for product innovation and design excellence. “The ethos at Origin is built around leaving your ego at the door,” says Victoria, chuckling. “You have to work on that – it doesn’t come naturally, that’s for sure! But that allows for innovation. I think it’s a really key part, if you’re not prepared to get things wrong and learn from mistakes, you’re never going to innovate. That’s a really important part of working here.
“That’s something that we promote across the whole business. It’s in the systems and processes that we run, we’re always looking to improve and get better. You’ve got to have that ability to learn and to improve without being too worried about the mistakes you make along the way.”
I’m taken around the factory floor by Origin’s Director of Manufacturing, Dimitris Dokos – ‘Dimi,’ as everyone is referring to him as. He’s not keen on being interviewed, but he walks me through the factory like a king showing off his castle – he’s proud of his company. He gets engineers to repeat processes for me, so I can get good camera shots. He keeps asking me if I’ve got what I need and if I’m happy – his one request is that I make sure to get some Origin branding in a few of my shots. “Fair enough Dimi,” I say, as he grins back at me.
While I’m going around the factory, Lee reminds me of that customer service focus that Victoria had mentioned earlier; that overarching requirement that the company was founded on – “We wanted to make sure we delivered on time and in full to our customers.” This informs much of the process at Origin. As Lee explains, one of her first conversations upon joining the company was “someone explaining to me the impact of not delivering on time and in full to our customers.”
She continues, “It’s logistically very difficult for them if we don’t deliver when we say we’re going to; whether it’s early or late, it’s got to be right. Therefore, a lot of our digitalisation has been around getting that right. If we look at our ERP project, for example, I think the last five years has been all about just integration. So, when our customer says, ‘yes, I’m happy to go on this order,’ nobody has to touch it after that all the way down to transferring the data files to our CNC machines, it’s all done digitally. This means the chances of mistakes are reduced dramatically.”
While I’m going around the factory, Lee reminds me of that customer service focus that Victoria had mentioned earlier; that overarching requirement that the company was founded on – “We wanted to make sure we delivered on time and in full to our customers.” This informs much of the process at Origin. As Lee explains, one of her first conversations upon joining the company was “someone explaining to me the impact of not delivering on time and in full to our customers.”
She continues, “It’s logistically very difficult for them if we don’t deliver when we say we’re going to; whether it’s early or late, it’s got to be right. Therefore, a lot of our digitalisation has been around getting that right. If we look at our ERP project, for example, I think the last five years has been all about just integration. So, when our customer says, ‘yes, I’m happy to go on this order,’ nobody has to touch it after that all the way down to transferring the data files to our CNC machines, it’s all done digitally. This means the chances of mistakes are reduced dramatically.”
The challenges Origin has faced
I probe a little more with my next question, as I assume it hasn’t all been plain sailing for Origin. Lee answers first when I ask, “has Origin been successful in utilising digital adoption and technology in driving its net zero goals?” There doesn’t appear to be many challenges in this department.
“We’ve got an entire department dedicated to sustainability. It’s one of the things that, as an environmentalist, makes me very proud to work for Origin – we take it very seriously. We started quite simply, like introducing paperless systems. All our documents are digital and available online. We’ve got process automation, which also makes everything digital. We also use data to measure a number of aspects, such as how much scrap we’ve got, to assist our sustainability department. We have a logistics planning tool which optimises our routes, ensuring the most efficient routing to deliver our goods, that obviously also helps with our sustainability that net zero targets.”
The area that Origin has found tricky is recruiting people to do factory roles. This opened up a discussion about that age-old industry problem – the skills gap. This has become particularly difficult in recent years, as Victoria points out. “Having the right people in place to deliver on the vision for the company has always been hugely important, as it is for every business, I’m sure. Where it gets complicated is finding people to do the manufacturing roles within the factory. Brexit had a big impact on that. Many of our members of staff made the decision to go back to their families in some of the Eastern European countries. We really support that; everyone has got to make those decisions. It has left us with a gap from a manufacturing point of view though.
“We’ve worked hard to get people into those roles,” continues Victoria. “From the culture of the business and really getting word out there that Origin is a wonderful place to work, right through to the training and support we offer. And also paying people the right money, it’s so important that you stay top of market if you want to get good people. So, it’s still positive from a people perspective, but it’s definitely harder than it’s been before.”
“What’s causing that?” I ask. “We often hear manufacturers say there is a false perception of this industry, and it’s making recruitment more difficult.”
“I couldn’t agree more,” says Victoria. “I think it’s not something that’s pushed too much when you’re going through school. Manufacturing is in the heart of the UK – we’re really good at engineering and innovation. To work within a company where you get something tangible at the end and you’re able to say, ‘we made this, and it’s actually made a difference to someone’s life,’ is a truly inspiring offering. As an industry, we’ve got to be better at getting the word out”
‘A wonderful accolade’
As we approach the end of the walk through the facility, I realise I haven’t discussed Origin’s TMMX win much with Victoria. She’s more than happy to oblige: “It was a wonderful accolade and a huge privilege to receive the award,” she says, beaming. “I’m fully aware of the hard work that’s gone in around the whole business. I think getting that reward was such a huge boost for our team. It’s all well and good me telling them how great they are, as well as other members of the senior leadership team, but when you’re being recognised externally it means such a lot. We never take for granted that we need to grow innovate, getting awards like this one just shows us we’re going in the right direction as well.”
“What would you say to other manufacturers thinking of entering TMMX Awards?” I ask.
“You got to do it for the right reasons,” she replies. “We certainly don’t do it purely as a marketing tool. For us, it’s a real boost for the whole company and a hugely positive experience. It just gives people another goal to aim for as well. And in terms of keeping good people within the business, going back to what we were saying about retaining those skills within the company, if you’re winning awards, or even just entering them and being part of the experience, it’s a great boost for the whole company and everyone that works here.”
Victoria and Lee need to dash off, but I make sure to thank them sincerely before they do. Victoria for her warmth and energy, and Lee for overcoming her nerves and giving me some great insight into the digital current that runs through the business. Dimi, following his unbelievably helpful and friendly guidance through the factory, sees me off the premises. He gives me detailed instructions of the simple route back to my car, probably assuming that much like my outbound journey, I’ll go the wrong way.
This was a thoroughly enjoyable visit. To see how interconnect Origin is between departments, to hear first-hand the importance of that design, digital and customer relationship, was hugely insightful. It’s easy to see how product innovation continues at a place like Origin – where people are able to make mistakes and grow and where dialogue between engineers and customers is frequent. The last couple of years has thrown up some challenges for the business – the recruitment headache is an ongoing one for the industry. It is our fervent wish at The Manufacturer that the perception of industry jobs is properly represented to people in the years to come, and that the art of the possible within the sector becomes clearer to young people. Once we’re at this point, companies like Origin will be at the front of the application queue.
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