Oxdale Products

Oxdale Products are one of Chesterfield's manufacturing success stories. Founded by Chris Butcher in 2008, the company at first produced a single product- this was a log-splitter. The idea came from Chris's experience in the farming, backed up by a degree in agriculture. Within a few years the business was employing seven staff and producing a range of 50 products, with huge personal effort and a shoestring budget. Chris was very ambitious (and still is!), never satisfied unless he could see bigger and better things ahead. In 2014 our paths crossed through a national business support programme called GrowthAccelerator. Although he may not have known it at the time, this was just the catalyst Chris needed to give him structure and focus for future growth.

Accessing funding to match Chris's ambitions was a challenge at the time, and a cause of real frustration. He needed to harness his energy into a realistic strategy, but wasn't sure how. He was already successful, yet too hands-on. How could he make sure growth and success continued long-term?

Paul Hesp was Chris's business coach, with fees being subsidised by the GrowthAccelerator programme. Chris's first taste of external support. Paul guided him through a process to filter and develop great ideas and create a growth strategy and action plans to bring them to life. A marketing plan was produced for the first time, formalising the way products were promoted and making better use of funds to find new customers. PHMC support included research and support to provide external funding through grant schemes that couldn't have been accessed commercially, reducing the financial risks usually associated with business growth. PHMC became a constant background support and remains so today. With PHMC's expertise, Oxdale have accessed over £250,000 of funding, building sales from £800k to over £2m. Factory extensions, new premises and processes and investment in high tech laser-cutting machinery have all made their contributions.

Oxdale Products now employs 18 staff and is having their busiest year ever, despite the coronavirus pandemic. Chris was well placed to weather that storm, and continued to identify and exploit new opportunities. More space is again needed, with both Chesterfield sites working at full capacity. We're now in Spetember 2020 and seeking further external funding for the next phase of growth, counting on our 100% track record to date!

Take a look at Oxdale's website.