A long-awaited Anglo-Saxon company, Senator group, which many of us know as Alleirmuir, Senator and Torasen, has come to the broad portfolio.
14. 8. 2017
Colin Mustoe, chairman of Senator Group, launched the furniture business from his family home in Blackburn in 1976. The company is now one of Britain’s biggest manufacturers of office furniture, making everything from simple desks to funky, unusual-looking sofas that would be at home in a Californian tech start-up’s brainstorming area.
The business has changed its strategic direction over the years, he explains, going from making affordable, basic furniture to eye-catching pieces that are very different to anything sold by the competition – carrying a higher price tag.
It’s important to grow the company steadily, rather than going for growth for growth’s sake
These days, the company designs everything in-house, using innovative 3D-printing technology to bring new designs from paper to prototype in a matter of weeks. Top design skills do not come cheap, Mr Mustoe says: “Senator invests substantially in design with a large internal prototyping and design team, internal designers and the selective use of external designers both at home and abroad.” The company currently employs around 1,100 people.
At the moment, 35pc of turnover is generated outside the UK and the Lancashire firm is focused on boosting international sales over the coming years. “The most important market outside of the UK is currently the US where we have our own manufacturing facilities and now have a substantial manufacturing and sales set up which we believe will rival the UK in coming years,” Mr Mustoe says.
