Kettle Interiors recently relocated its Vietnamese production site to a newer, larger building. Furniture News speaks to MD Ian Kettle about what this means to the service offered by the supplier …
Can you outline the new factory – its location, size and the number of employees?
We haven’t gone very far, still remaining in the Binh Dong Province of Vietnam, located in the south-east of the country. The factory is just two miles away from our previous facility, but is over five times the size. At around 110,000 sqft, the new factory not only provides ample production space for current ranges and future introductions, but also gives us a designated storage space capable of housing around 60 containers. The factory will have 115 employees.
“We are really excited about our new facility and the scope that it offers us, not only in terms of developing products but also in stabilising our supply and stock levels”
How will the new factory integrate into existing furniture production operations?
With the two facilities so close, we have been able to achieve a smooth transition, running both side by side for a period, moving each department in turn. We thought this was a far better way to ensure a smooth and almost unnoticeable transition for customers of existing ranges. Hopefully, most wouldn’t have been aware at all.
With bigger capacity, does the factory allow for innovation in your product line-up, and are you looking to utilise this with new collections in the near future?
Initially the new factory is allowing us to streamline our operations, providing more productivity per square metre of space and boosting production capacity to 75 containers a month. As a natural result of this, we will be able to explore new ranges in the future without disruption to existing collections. It also allows us to serve a growing customer base with the high service levels that people have come to expect from the Kettle Interiors name.
Which of your current ranges is the factory responsible for?
The facility is producing oak ranges in the shape of Canterbury, the full suite of Oakham dining, occasional and bedroom, Chunky Oak Dining and Chunky Oak Bedroom and the brand new Stamford living and dining collection. These are among our most popular collections, and so the positive effects of the new factory will be felt by many within our loyal customer base.
When will retailers see the furniture arrive from the new factory?
Well, as you may have guessed, the factory is already in full swing, and the gradual transition between sites has meant that customers have been receiving product from the new factory since December, when the first shipments landed. We are really excited about our new facility and the scope that it offers us, not only in terms of developing products but also in stabilising our supply and stock levels, allowing us to deliver customers even better service.
This article was featured in the March issue of Furniture News magazine.
