Perimeter Systems

INCREASED production capacity has been brought on stream by a gate company as it looks to keep pace with demand.

Parking Facilities has reshuffled its Midland based factory to accommodate the rise in sales.

''Delivery times are all important in today''s market,'' said Anthony Green, managing director of the company, which is one of the top three gate makers in the UK. ''That means we have to be able to respond to those demands and hence we have reconfigured the factory to ensure we can turnaround orders faster.''

It was only two years ago that Parking Facilities moved to the £3.5million site close to the M42 and was able to treble its manufacturing operation. With more than 80,000 sq feet, the company embarked on its plans to transform itself into a major player in the gate and access control markets.

Inside the 24 months a whole array of new products have been introduced and this has necessitated operational changes to be able to cope with demand.

''This is exactly why we opted to move into premises that gave us the option of growing, and we are able to respond to the very variable market conditions, particularly in respect of delivery,'' said Green.

Over the past 12 months the company has launched a variety of products and in April it added a range of automatic bollards to its line-up.

''These have been particularly well received and gives added value to our product range,'' he said.

This came hard on the heels of Parking Facilities producing its own bi-folding Speed gate and Green is already focused on more product options. Allied to this, the company has the ability to personalise colours options to meet specific corporate requirements, as added value to its services.

''We won''t be stopping there. As we refine and develop existing products, we become aware of the other options that could be added to the range. It is a never ending cycle of providing access solutions for an ever changing market.''

Part of the development has involved the inclusion of additional safety edge features on Parking Facilities products.

''This has always been a priority for us,'' said Green, ''and we''ve been extremely conscious of the need to ensure our products not only comply with the legal requirements but also go beyond the standards. Hence the fact that we have now a sixth safety edge included on the outside of our automatic sliding gate portals. This has been included as a no cost standard because we believe safety to be paramount.''

Export sales are also growing with a number of contracts in Europe, including  the Scandinavian countries giving Parking Facilities a platform to make its mark.

''In the past two years we have developed beyond recognition and that''s why we''ve needed to look at our own internal structure both in terms of production and customer service so that we meet market requirements in every sector.''

A new online order tracking system is under development with specialist software giving customers 24-hour online access to a particular contract and its status.

''This is in tandem with the development of our website and is again aimed at upping our customer service operations,'' said Green.