Invotek Solutions began life as Poole Partitionings in 1973, a specialist manufacturer of simple aluminium frames.
Since then, it’s not just the company name that has changed. Constant design innovation, driven by customer demand, new materials and cutting edge techniques, has transformed the business. Invotek now boasts an extensive product range, employs 40 people and turned over an impressive £5.5million in 2004.
Simon Coleman says the company has experienced a ‘natural evolution’ from its engineering roots and has become an increasingly design-led business.
‘The only way to gain competitive advantage in this sector is to offer something unique,’ he says. ‘And to do that you have to design something.’
Design is central to Invotek’s product development, and it’s the customers and useres who drive the innovation process. ‘We listen to what customers say and value their input,’ says Coleman. ‘In a competitive industry like partitioning you have to be one step ahead.’ Listening to the feedback of its customer base – largely architects and designers – Invotek is able to anticipate new trends and capitalise on opportunities. ‘Customers are our eyes and ears,’ says Coleman. ‘They drive our appetite for design and innovation. If enough people are asking for a particular type of product or service then we try to find out how we can give it to them’.
As a result, Invotek has continued to refine its product range. Even though the original Invotek 75 range, developed in 1975, still accounts for approximately 50 percent of total sales, the past 30 years have seen the range expanded to include a number of other products including glass partitions and moveable wall systems. ‘Flexibility is an important factor for our customers and we have sought to respond to their needs by adapting what we do best,’ says Coleman.
And the Strawboard launch was similarly a response to customer demand for a sustainable alternative to plasterboard. ‘It’s not just the regulators that are driving the need for more sustainable solutions; our customers want them too,’ Coleman explains. ‘Our first project with Strawboard was in a school, and it was important for them to be able to source building materials manufactured with the environment in mind.’
He, and the rest of the company, are determined to keep innovating. ‘Innovative products such as Strawboard are the result of our continual investment in design, research and development,’ says Coleman, ‘and those disciplines have been the cornerstones of our consistent growth over the years. We expect our return on investment for the Strawboard product to reach £1million by the end of 2007.’
