Ministry doubles office space as it gears up for post-lockdown boom

Ministry of Furniture, the company which emerged from Remploy Furniture, has doubled the size of its premises in Neath Port Talbot and created two purpose-built showrooms as it gears up for a boom in business as economic restrictions associated with the COVID-19 pandemic lift.

The company, based in Baglan Energy Park, Port Talbot, has taken an additional 3,200 sq. ft of office space, doubling its existing space in those premises and complementing its 10,900 sq. ft manufacturing facility in the Swansea Valley. The move also comes on the back of it creating eight new positions at the firm earlier this year.

Ministry successfully realigned its business in 2020 moving to produce personal protective equipment and protective screens to help its clients manage the challenges of COVID-19 while protecting jobs. More recently, it has also expanded its offering to the education sector, notably by upskilling its staff to allow it to produce and install all forms of fitted furniture for classrooms including science and technology laboratory equipment and desks.

One of its new showrooms will showcase this new offering for the education sector; the other will illustrate its extensive skills and offering around workplace interiors, which includes loose furniture and associated graphics, wall art and signage. Its offering is also designed to support the construction industry from concept to completion.

While the number of visitors to the new showrooms is limited at present, due to social distancing requirements, it is able to welcome visitors by appointment now and hopes to organise an open day once such a gathering is considered safe and legal.

The showroom dedicated to its education offering fits well with its growing portfolio of work in education, itself partly driven by the Welsh Government’s 21st Century Schools Programme – a multi-billion investment. The firm is already working with a number of schools in the region including Cefn Saeson School in Neath, Ysgol Y Graig in Merthyr Tydfil and Whitmore High School in Barry.

Graham Hirst, Ministry Group CEO, said:

“This is another positive step forward for the business as we eye an economic recovery for the country and what we hope will be a period of growth and expansion for our own business.

“We proved our agility last year in the way we repurposed the business and realigned our offering. We are now reaping the rewards of that as we have invested in our staff and offering to serve new sectors and work with new clients. We have already created a number of new jobs this year; these new showrooms will allow us to take the next step forward in showcasing our work and offering in all its forms.”