Contract fabric manufacturer Panaz has seen a strong start to 2023, with a good development on previous gains after continued investment across many aspects of the business over the last 12-months.
Panaz exports to 50 countries from its manufacturing site in Lancashire. This, and its home market in the UK, has seen growth in recent months, which is still ahead of pre-Covid levels.
The company has invested heavily in supporting the UK textile and furniture industry as well as moving towards becoming a carbon-neutral manufacturer. Much of the investment seen over the last few years has been focused on addressing the environmental concerns surrounding the textile industry at large. This includes the production of two 100% recycled base cloths, EcoTwist and EcoTwill.
Panaz has also built on the use of digital technologies to enhance its custom design capabilities. This included implementing technology to significantly speed up the manufacturing process and create a route for designers and specifiers to use their own bespoke designs on the high-quality fabric Panaz has a reputation for producing.
February 2023 saw the introduction of a new online system, that enables customers to digitally place orders, giving them access to over 10,000 stock items available for same-day or overnight dispatch. The system also enables users to check stock or review their order status online to further streamline customer interactions.
Diane Chadwick, Head of UK Sales at Panaz, said: “The new technology has enabled Panaz to double its capacity for print production at its UK headquarters, reducing the process from two weeks to 24 – 48 hours, depending on capacity. This has helped us to improve our customer service offering and also achieves a significant reduction in waste throughout Panaz’s print department.
“From a manufacturing perspective, the set-up that we now have at Panaz means that we are able to move quickly and supply our customers with what they need with a flexible or short timetable, this has been a major drive for our sales and presented some key opportunities for us as a business.”
During the first half of 2023, Panaz launched three key collections, Meridian, Shalimar, and a collaboration with Timorous Beasties, which produced a collection of statement prints that was unveiled at Clerkenwell Design Week.
