A Waltham Abbey-based family panel finishing business has bounced back from one of the most difficult trading periods in its 46-year history.
Color-Board Ltd was threatened with closure three years ago (TT JJanuary 5/12, 2002) after an “awful” period of bad debts and subsequent redundancies.
But managing director Liz Faulkner said streamlining had enabled the company, one of only two stand-alone curtain coating specialists in the country, to battle on despite difficult trading conditions this year.
Ms Faulkner, granddaughter of Color-Board founder Victor Wain, said: “We have managed to carry on. It’s been a difficult time for the majority of businesses that we speak to. Turnovers are definitely down.”
Color-Board has widened its services to bring in more business. It can now curtain coat MDF to provide a class 1 fire rating, to satisfy increasing demand for panels in public spaces.
It also coats plywood hoardings for use on construction sites.
Much of the company’s business comes via timber and panel merchants and shopfitters.
