Chinese manufacturing giant moves UK HQ to historic Harrogate chapelBusiness Q&A: Andy Ormrod, Flying Colours

This is the latest in a regular series of Business Q&A features published weekly.     

This week, we spoke to Andy Ormrod, founder and managing director of Flying Colours in Knaresborough.

Tell us in fewer than 30 words what your firm does. 

We are a flag manufacturer. We purchase flag fabric, we cut it, we sew it, we machine it and we turn it into glorious-looking flags.

I founded the company in 1994 when I was unemployed, and since 2008 we’ve held the Royal Warrant as flag manufacturer to the Queen. That’s now under review, but we should find out if we have the King’s Royal Warrant by this time next year.

What does it require to be successful in business? 

You’ve got to be persistent. You’ve got to know your product, know how to sell your product, know how to get it to your customers on time – and you need the right people doing the right jobs.

You need a little bit of luck as well, but so long as you’re making a good product, you should be OK.

What drives you to do what you do every day? 

Anyone who has their own business has a passion to get up every day and try and do what they do better, and I’m the same. It’s so exciting – you never know what’s around the corner.

What has been the toughest issue your company has had to deal with over the last 12 months? 

I don’t think there’s been anything difficult in the last 12 months. Before that, Covid was difficult, but everyone struggled with that. Our lockdown lasted about two days, but then we had lots of orders come in, not least from the NHS. So I read and re-read the rules, and then brought a couple of people in, working in opposite corners of the room. Then the two-metre rule came in and we had four people. With more orders, it snowballed and became seven people and eventually we all came back to work, and it ended up working very well.

Which other local firms do you most admire and why? 

We deal with a lot of great firms locally. Taylors of Harrogate is one I admire. They’re massive compared with us, but they’re a great business, and like us, they have the Royal Warrant.

Who are the most inspiring local leaders? 

Years ago, I remember hearing about HACS, the Ripley-based engineering firm. Now you see their plant and orange logo everywhere. Their founder, Mark Smith, has done brilliantly well.

What could be done locally to boost business? 

That’s a tricky one. Something we could all do – and that my wife Jules and I try to do – is support local businesses. The high street is up against a lot of online competition, and I take my hat off to those who manage to stay in business. We need to protect these businesses, and that means using them.

Best and worst things about running a business from Knaresborough? 

The best thing is the town itself. A lot of people take it for granted, but it’s beautiful, and the river and castle attract a lot of people here. It’s a really nice place for folk to work.

There’s not a lot wrong with Knaresborough, so I suppose the worst thing is probably the potholes – they’re always a challenge.

What are your business plans for the future? 

I’ve run this business for 30 years now and Jules and I are in our 60s, so we plan to retire on January 1, 2025.

Our sons, Chris, Tom and Jamie, already effectively run the business, and they’re very good at it so they’ll carry on. I’ve had some good offers for the company, but never really entertained them. We’ll stay local and carry on employing local people.

What do you like to do on your time off? 

My time off is very busy! We live in Wath, and I’m captain of Wath and Melmerby Cricket Club, which is something I really enjoy. We also get involved with a lot of village stuff– I love living up there. 

Best place to eat and drink locally? 

The Farm Dairy in Knaresborough is the best place for sandwiches and also does fantastic cheeses.

For eating out, definitely our local pub in Wath, The George – fab food. Otherwise it’s into Ripon to Mario’s by the cathedral or Storehouse on North Street.

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Business Breakfast: Manufacturer featured on BBC’s DIY SOS special

Are you already thinking of how to reward your employees this Christmas? Why not choose the Harrogate Gift Card?

The Harrogate Gift Card can be spent in over 100 businesses in Harrogate town centre including retail, hospitality and leisure, whilst keeping the spend locked into the local economy.

Complete a corporate bulk order of over £250 and receive 15% discount from November 1 to 15 with the code ‘HGT15’.

Ventilation manufacturer EnviroVent had its products brought to national attention by contributing them to BBC One’s DIY SOS: The Big Build for Children in Need.

The Harrogate-based company donated six ventilation units to Treetops Hospice in Risley in Derbyshire, which was being built for the show. The EnviroVent ECO dMEV units were used in a new counselling and therapy centre for traumatically bereaved children and young people.

In just 10 days, the DIY SOS team, led by presenter Nick Knowles, created the purpose-built counselling and therapy centre, which is expected will support hundreds of young people in difficult circumstances every year.

EnviroVent key account manager James Garland said:

“It was fantastic to be able to provide assistance for such a wonderful cause. All parties who contributed to this project did some great work, which will benefit the lives of so many children and young people.

Indoor air-quality is so important in keeping people healthy and ventilation systems like these ensure condensation and mould is not able to form and cause an issue.”

Black Sheep in first collaboration

Black Sheep Brewery in Masham has unveiled the fruits of its first ever brewery collaboration.

Ensueño is a joint effort with Piglove Brewing, a Leeds firm whose owners hail from Venezuela.

Ensueño is a Spanish term meaning “to aspire to do something that is unlikely to happen”, a sentiment deemed appropriate for brewery start-ups by the two breweries’ founders, Paul Theakston and Marcos Ramirez.

The ale was devised by Marcos and Black Sheep’s head brewer Alex Brandon-Davies, and features Pilsner malt, wheat and two types of oats, as well as Citra, Mosaic and Sabro hops. Each of Piglove’s beers includes a special ingredient, and Ensueño’s is the dried coffee cherry, cáscara.

Ensueño will be on tap soon at the Black Sheep Brewery Visitor Centre in Masham, The Three Legged Mare in York, and Piglove by the River in Leeds.

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Knaresborough company expands into mortuary industry

Coronavirus has forced a Knaresborough manufacturer to adapt its trolleys and racks for use in morgues, rather than catering venues.

Craven & Co has been in operation for more than 60 years, with 80% of its products used in the catering and hospitality industries.

During lockdown many of these orders dropped off, but the company’s previous work making medical supplies meant that it won a vital NHS contract.

It was tasked with making frontline medical equipment for the Nightingale hospitals, including 12,500 IV stands, which were transported across the country.

Wez Dance, its director, said this came as a “godsend” that led to further NHS work. The new contract also encouraged Craven & Co to move into the mortuary industry as it had previously planned.

Its existing products such as racks and trolleys can be easily adapted for mortuaries.

Mr Dance suspected the high numbers of catering and hospitality orders they received pre-lockdown would never return and that diversifying was necessary.

He said:

“The world changed last March and the impact on the hospitality industry was a massive, massive hit for us. We knew we had to diversify and go into new markets to survive.”

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The company appointed a new sales manager, Trevor Russ, with previous experience in the mortuary industry to help with the expansion.

Mr Dance added:

“We are delighted to welcome Trevor at such an exciting time in Craven & Co’s story. Over 60 years, we’ve become known for our high-quality British-made products, quick turnaround, competitive pricing and great customer service, not to mention our bespoke solutions. We’re hoping these elements, combined with Trevor’s knowledge and expertise, will help us break into a niche market.”