January 2025
Welcome to our January newsletter.
We start the year with reflections by Focus SB's MD, Gary Stevens MBA who reports a record turnover in excess of ￡6M for the first time in our history and has "seen a shift in our business that has taken the demand for luxury electrical accessories up several levels and along with that it has changed the way we manufacture plates, moving from flat pressed plates (becoming more of a commodity item), to CNC precision machined plates in thicker and higher specification brass material".
I thought I would let the dust settle briefly on 2024 before reflecting on the year from a Focus SB perspective. It has been a very interesting and challenging one, but in a very good way.
Department for Business and Trade (DBT) Export Champion, Mr Stevens shares our investment plans for 2025 and highlights British manufacturing's contribution to GDP, something he and other members of 1066 Manufacturers group (of which we are a founder member) are passionate about:
For those of you who know us, we operate very much in the high end residential and hospitality markets, along with heritage buildings; supplying luxury hand-crafted electrical switches and sockets to put it simply! Our forte is that we are a British manufacturer with everything under one roof - manufacturing of plates, finishing of plates, electrical inserts and assembly and we manufacture standard and bespoke products. This has led to increased investment in 2024, and we are planning for increased levels of investment in machinery, automation and people in 2025. Our confidence to move into this new area and the levels of investment are borne by the results of our financial year that finished at the end of December 2024, where we returned a record turnover in excess of ￡6M for the first time in our history and we are projecting to increase this substantially over the next few years.
Why am I sharing this? Well first of all, there is not enough credit given to the UK manufacturing base and it's contribution to GDP (the term 'we don't make anything anymore' infuriates me more than any other term, and I know there are lots of people on LinkedIn in manufacturing who share that frustration). Secondly, it proves that with confidence in your team and if you are prepared to take calculated risks, then the potential rewards are great. Thirdly, I wanted to acknowledge the efforts that our employees have made to make this happen and also our loyal customers, who have given us the confidence to stretch ourselves and give us belief.
Featured by Professional Electricians Wholesaler in its Face to Face series earlier in the month Mr Stevens discusses the ever changing wiring accessories market, how Focus SB stands out from the crowd and metal finishes trends.
Interview with Kees van der Sande, Formation Architects
Our first quarterly blog interview of 2025 features a fascinating interview with valued customer Kees van der Sande, Trustee and Director at Formation Architects.
Specialists in integrating natural and artificial light into architectural designs, discover Kees van der Sande's interesting personal back story and training as a young architect, through to how he works closely with lighting and interior designers. Contractor-focused, Kees has a unique background in manufacturing and believes in nurturing strong supply chain relationships. All this is complemented by his attention to finish detail.
At 100 Park Lane we were able to design custom Lutron Electronics lighting plates with Focus SB to ensure the heritage elements of the building and the interior design by Alberto Pinto were considered. This even meant custom back boxes throughout to ensure the design was not compromised. It’s this attention to detail coupled with an understanding of how things are built that makes Formation Architects unique.
Visit our blog to read the full interview. Please contact our PR Suzi Baker if you are a consulting engineer, architect or interior designer specifying Focus SB's products and would like to be featured, we're already working on 2026!
Celebrating the Mayfair community
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Our sales and marketing manager Steve Moss was pleased to be invited to the 10th Mayfair Times Community Awards at The Biltmore Mayfair Established in 2015, the awards celebrate individuals and businesses that contribute to the local community. Our products are specified by design consultants in the Mayfair area so the awards event was a wonderful opportunity to mix with people from local businesses and experience the atmosphere of such a close-knit community. A special thank you to hosts Selma Day and Adrian Day, Mayfair Times.
Steve Moss, pictured with the terrific event host Gyles Brandreth congratulates the winners:
Wonderful evening, had the pleasure of hearing about some of the incredible work that people do in the community. Some well-deserved winners and an honour to join them to celebrate their achievements on the night with Suzi Baker
Factory news
We're pleased to be visiting Integrated Systems Europe (ISE) and look forward to discovering the latest ranges from our industry Partners and other exhibitors. Do contact us if you plan to be there and would like to meet.
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