CEO Monthly Oct

8 CEO MONTHLY / OCTOBER 2017 , Elwyns was originally started by Chris Blanks father in 1963. He was then in his early thirties andmoved into Surrey fromSouth London. Taking time to profile the family grown company is Managing Director, Chris Blanks who reveals more about the innovative business. Providing Beautiful Windows and Doors for More Than Half a Century Elwyns was originally started by my father in 1963. He was then in his early thirties and moved into Surrey from South London. His experience in the glass industry gave him the confidence to open a DIY store that would sell cut glass and timber. The name, Elwyns, was inherited from the shop that he purchased, which was the original village post office. In the 60’s, double glazing didn’t exist, however secondary glazing was becoming a popular way of providing insulation against noise from a growing car industry, and heat loss as central heating was becoming more common. In the years that followed, the company saw the residential market change rapidly with the introduction of the double glazed sealed units, aluminium frames and more recently PVCu. To keep at the forefront of such a fast-paced market, Elwyns started manufacturing our own windows and doors in all materials. In the early 80’s, the business began to focus more on the installation of windows and doors, and it was decided to close the DIY shop in favour of additional workshop and storage space. Growing up, Elwyns was very much a part of our family life. I studied at two local schools, but found academic work not something I took to very easily. The subjects I enjoyed most were music and the creative topics, areas where I could produce something myself. After many years working Saturdays and school holidays in our shop, I joined my father’s business as a full time junior installer in 1989. I found satisfaction in transforming the look of our customers’ homes with new windows and doors. Whilst gaining experience in the practical side of business, I also spent time learning manual bookkeeping and payroll. Subsequently, I took roles in sales and then surveying to build a knowledge in all aspects of the business. In 2000, following my father’s decision to retire, I took over the company with my new business partner and fellow long-term employee, Mr Mark Chadwick. It was at this time that we changed from a private partnership to a limited company. Shortly after taking the reins, we opened our first showroom in the next-door shop to where my father had originally started. We were a new breed of glazing company, that was determined to shake off the bad reputation the industry had gained through in house high pressure selling, from some of the National companies of the 80’s. Showrooms gave the consumer the opportunity to view products and make decisions in a more relaxed and professional way. This certainly proved itself very quickly as our business began to grow by 25% each year. Since then, we have GCE17047 open two more showrooms which has enabled us to serve an area covering Surrey, South London and the South East. Growth of the business has not come from large sums of borrowed money or hefty overdrafts. In fact, all growth has come from reinvestment of profits. Although this may not have enabled us to grow quickly, it has provided great stability in the business. It also provides a drive to succeed, so that we can take the business forward with our plans to continually improve. Our expansion plans are quite modular. One showroom equals two fitting teams, a sales team, a surveyor and so on. This makes it easier to budget and plan for when the business is ready to take that step forward. Success of any company is largely down to relationships that are built between the businesses it deals with on a daily basis. We have spent