To make a window, the current process is extremely manual and requires wood being moved between three machines - a tenoner, a spindle moulder and a morticer.
Meanwhile, the parts used in staircases are made using a handheld router and jig.
James explained: “From initial set up, to ensuring the join is good, the simplest window would take up to 60 minutes. That includes some machining, then some benchwork and then back to the machine. It is the manual intervention that is the challenge.”
“If my guys are out installing the products then the work backs up and can cause 8 -12 weeks delivery time. It’s a battle keeping that down. No one wants lead times like that.”
Business is good for James, but for the last four years turnover has remained at a steady £300k.
“That consistency shows that we are at capacity,” he said. “There is only so much we can do in terms of machining. We simply have to find a way to stop turning business away.”