New site opens doors

Virtuoso Doors is now producing up to 200 doors per day following an intensive programme of factory upgrades and a site move.

The company moved from its original Chester-le-Street manufacturing site to the new purpose-built site at Follingsby Park, Gateshead at the start of 2021. The site, formerly the clothing warehouse for Barbour, has a 120,00ft² footprint and will double the capacity and manufacturing capability of Virtuoso Doors.

Over the course of the year the site has had a power upgrade to meet manufacturing requirements, a new compressed air system, and state-of-the-art extraction system installed.

Furthermore, a new automated paint line has come online allowing for a greater choice of custom colours, and new lift assist systems allow employees to work on the door units quickly and safely.

The move is also allowing for a number of improvements to staff facilities from the catering and break areas, to the office space.

Tony Craggs, managing director of Virtuoso Doors, said: “With our teams having to adapt to changing conditions on a daily and weekly basis, it is important we don’t lose sight on how much has been achieved this year to put Virtuoso Doors on the front footing. We’ve moved from a cramped site to a state-of-the-art location with significantly more space and ability to grow further, which will help us create new jobs over time.

“Every purchase has been made with a view to improving the quality and precision of our manufacturing processes, and the doors that we deliver to customers at the end of each day.

“There is never a good time to move home, but for our team to have done this during the pandemic under the Covid-related restrictions, and then continued to apply their talent and skills to bring the machinery on site up to speed, while others have adapted to the new supply chain realities to secure a source of necessary components, it is a very proud achievement for us.”