Balmoral Furniture
Belfast
Increase your sales across the island
Balmoral Furniture
Belfast
Belfast based Balmoral Furniture manufactures furniture for the contract market, including the hospitality/leisure, office furniture and healthcare, and education sectors. Although the company had already been tendering for government contracts in Northern Ireland for over 50 years, they contacted us for advice in a bid to refresh and develop their approach to the tendering process in that market and in the South.
“We had previously secured a number of large contracts in the North but it is a very competitive market and we felt that we could get even more work here and in the South if we bettered the way in which we tendered for business,” explained Stephen Shaw, joint managing director.
We recommended the Go-2-Tender workshop series to Balmoral.Speaking about the workshops Mr Shaw said “The Go-2-Tender workshop gave us a fresh insight into the all-island procurement market - we weren’t aware just how much the tendering process had changed. Whereas we would previously have concentrated on just listing our company facts and prices, InterTradeIreland advised us that this was no longer sufficient to win contracts.
“They advised us to think about tendering as more of a marketing process and gave us practical advice on how to do so. As a result, we are now much more professional and structured in how we tender for business in both the North and South.”
Go-2-Tender is a programme which has been developed to give SMEs the confidence, knowledge and practical skills to tender successfully for public sector contracts particularly on a cross-border basis.
For more information on
Go2tender and upcoming workshops contact Jenny Williamson on 028 30834173 or email jenny.williamson@intertradeireland.com.
View Full Case Study
First established in 1920 as upholstery manufacturers, Balmoral Furniture (Moffett and Sons Ltd) is now Ireland’s largest furniture manufacturer, employing 120 people. The company operates out of a 200,000 sq ft factory in Dunmurry, Belfast, with an additional 12,000 sq ft showroom displaying the complete product range.
As well as trading in the domestic market, the company manufactures furniture for the contract market, including the hospitality/leisure, office furniture and healthcare, and education sectors.
Balmoral Furniture works closely with the Northern Ireland Education Authority, the Department of the Environment, various health boards and most of the hotel and bar/restaurant groups across Ireland, and has recently expanded further into the UK and Europe through a contract with a large hotel chain.
Joint Managing Director Stephen Shaw said: “At Balmoral we pride ourselves on offering the highest quality, bespoke furniture at competitive prices. Using the latest CAD software enables us to produce custom designed furniture for our clients – providing a customers service which is second to none.”
Although the company had already been tendering for government contracts in Northern Ireland for over 50 years, they contacted InterTradeIreland for advice in a bid to refresh and develop their approach to the tendering process in that market and in the South.
“We had previously secured a number of large contracts in the North but it is a very competitive market and we felt that we could get even more work here and in the South if we bettered the way in which we tendered for business,” explained Mr Shaw.
InterTradeIreland recommended the Go-2-Tender workshop series, which helps companies understand how public sector bodies across the island buy goods and services, how to source opportunities, the tendering process and what buyers are looking for.
“The Go-2-Tender workshop gave us a fresh insight into the all-island procurement market - we weren’t aware just how much the tendering process had changed. Whereas we would previously have concentrated on just listing our company facts and prices, InterTradeIreland advised us that this was no longer sufficient to win contracts.
“They advised us to think about tendering as more of a marketing process and gave us practical advice on how to do so. As a result, we are now much more professional and structured in how we tender for business in both the North and South.”
InterTradeIreland Operations Director Margaret Hearty said: “Balmoral Furniture is just one of many companies who have benefited from the Go-2-Tender workshops and, in fact, companies who have participated on the programme to date have secured over £17m worth of sales through new contracts.
“As the recession continues to take its toll and competition continues to intensify across the island, it is essential that SMEs look islandwide for opportunities to generate revenue and offset decreasing rates of public expenditure in their own jurisdictions.
“The Go-2-Tender workshops offer these companies expert advice on how best to do just that, and I would recommend companies to get involved.”
As well as trading in the domestic market, the company manufactures furniture for the contract market, including the hospitality/leisure, office furniture and healthcare, and education sectors.
Balmoral Furniture works closely with the Northern Ireland Education Authority, the Department of the Environment, various health boards and most of the hotel and bar/restaurant groups across Ireland, and has recently expanded further into the UK and Europe through a contract with a large hotel chain.
Joint Managing Director Stephen Shaw said: “At Balmoral we pride ourselves on offering the highest quality, bespoke furniture at competitive prices. Using the latest CAD software enables us to produce custom designed furniture for our clients – providing a customers service which is second to none.”
Although the company had already been tendering for government contracts in Northern Ireland for over 50 years, they contacted InterTradeIreland for advice in a bid to refresh and develop their approach to the tendering process in that market and in the South.
“We had previously secured a number of large contracts in the North but it is a very competitive market and we felt that we could get even more work here and in the South if we bettered the way in which we tendered for business,” explained Mr Shaw.
InterTradeIreland recommended the Go-2-Tender workshop series, which helps companies understand how public sector bodies across the island buy goods and services, how to source opportunities, the tendering process and what buyers are looking for.
“The Go-2-Tender workshop gave us a fresh insight into the all-island procurement market - we weren’t aware just how much the tendering process had changed. Whereas we would previously have concentrated on just listing our company facts and prices, InterTradeIreland advised us that this was no longer sufficient to win contracts.
“They advised us to think about tendering as more of a marketing process and gave us practical advice on how to do so. As a result, we are now much more professional and structured in how we tender for business in both the North and South.”
InterTradeIreland Operations Director Margaret Hearty said: “Balmoral Furniture is just one of many companies who have benefited from the Go-2-Tender workshops and, in fact, companies who have participated on the programme to date have secured over £17m worth of sales through new contracts.
“As the recession continues to take its toll and competition continues to intensify across the island, it is essential that SMEs look islandwide for opportunities to generate revenue and offset decreasing rates of public expenditure in their own jurisdictions.
“The Go-2-Tender workshops offer these companies expert advice on how best to do just that, and I would recommend companies to get involved.”
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