A power tool supplier has invested £600,000 into expanding its Black Country headquarters after seeing sales soar fuelled by an uptake in DIY during lockdown.
Lumberjack Tools, which is run by brothers Bill, Dave and Fred Evans, said revenue had increased by £6 million as more people used lockdown and furlough to complete jobs around the house they had been putting off.
As a result, it has added three new staff to its team and invested around £600,000 into an additional 17,000 sq ft distribution facility next to its HQ on the Manders Estate, Wolverhampton.
The decision will support the next stage of its development which includes the growth of new brands Autojack and Gardenjack and adding up to 200 extra products to the range.
Managing director Fred Evans said: "Like a lot of e-commerce businesses, we have seen a huge spike in demand from the home DIY market, with covid-19 giving people more time to focus on projects they’d been putting off.
"Sales of saws, sanders, routers, wood lathes and jigs are up 100 per cent and we’ve had to buy in bulk to ensure we can continue to supply demand from our growing customer base.
"Our 13 staff have worked so hard during the pandemic, really going above and beyond to deliver outstanding customer service.
"As a business, we have also been proactive, pressing the button on a major investment drive that will give us more space, enhanced IT infrastructure and new forklift and pallet trucks."
Lumberjack Tools was set up in 2004 in a small industrial unit in West Bromwich and grew steadily until it fully embraced online sales eight years later.
Mr Evans added: "A big focus for 2021 is targeting more key accounts which can sell our products to a far wider audience in the UK.
"Machine Mart is the first organisation to sign-up and we’re looking at other well-established woodworking outlets which can give us a footprint in the retail world and customers face-to-face knowledge of our products."
