Fast-growing West Yorkshire business GNG Group, which manufactures performance products for the healthcare, sports, safety, consumer and contract mattress sectors, is expanding its medical and consumer mattress division with the creation of a new 40,000sq ft factory and warehouse in Normanton. The new facility represents a £1.75m investment which will enable it to quadruple its mattress manufacturing capacity as well as creating at least another 20 jobs this year.
The mattress division will move from the group’s 25,000sq ft manufacturing site in Navigation Yard, Wakefield, following growing demand for its products, particularly its Komfi vacuum-packed mattress brand which was relaunched into the UK consumer market in 2020. The new facilities will enable GNG to expand mattress production capacity by more than 300 percent.
Based at Tyler Close in Normanton, the site is currently undergoing a 20-week refurbishment programme and is due to be operational by May. It will be equipped with low-energy lighting, solar power and electric fork trucks, with additional investment planned in machinery to maximise production and efficiency in order to further reduce its carbon footprint as part of the group’s commitment to offsetting in future years.
The space freed up at GNG’s Wakefield site will enable the group’s sports and safety division to grow, increasing floor space and capacity to meet rising demand for specialist products in this sector.
Group managing director Darren Potterton, who is spearheading the company’s expansion plans, added: “Given the group’s strong performance and continued commitment to providing employment during these turbulent times, we see a bright future for the company, supported by the new investment and key Government manufacturing initiatives.
“The facility will be ready in time to meet our new business demands and pivotal to growing existing and new export opportunities. British manufacturing is at an exciting time and I’m really looking forward to establishing GNG as a market leader in dynamic, eco-friendly medical and consumer mattress design both in the UK and beyond.”
Komfi sales director Stuart Hibbert said: ” Over the last two years, we have seen our business increase by 70 percent following the relaunch of the Komfi mattress brand into the UK consumer market as well as meeting high demand for our products from the NHS critical care supply chain during the pandemic. This expansion into a dedicated manufacturing facility for the mattress division will enable us to continue to increase our capacity and product range, improving customer choice as well as creating more than 50 new jobs in the region over the next three years and further boosting the local economy.
“In particular, there has been significant growth in the popularity of the new eco collections within our Komfi mattress range which are designed and developed to replace traditional foams with alternative, more sustainable comfort fillings that aim to take end-of-life mattresses out of landfill and back into the recycling chain. These types of carbon neutral products are already proving of huge interest to our retail customers and larger buying groups, who are looking for ways of meeting the demands of more eco-conscious consumers.”
Headquartered in Wakefield, GNG Group was established in 1987 and has grown into a £10m turnover business, employing more than 90 people. It has become an international brand leader and supplier of foam based products, primarily serving the medical, consumer and sports sectors.
