Looking to the future after forty years in business

We are celebrating an impressive milestone, having hit four decades in the business in 2021.

Our firm has, like many others, faced challenging market conditions in the past year but our record for excellent products and service as well as careful management practices mean that the company is still going strong.

YF Furniture was founded in 1981 by two husband and wife pairs, Elaine and Mike Scott, and Bert and Jean Simpson, following their purchase of Yorkshire Fibreglass, which specialised in fibreglass moulding. Recognising the strength of the moulded seating branch of the existing business, the four steered the company into the contract and office seating market, winning high profile contracts throughout the 1980s and 1990s with the likes of P&O Ferries and the Northern Ireland government, including providing seating for Stormont Castle.

Elaine and Mike Scott took full control of the business as company secretary and managing director in 1999, with their daughter and son-in-law, Carly and Adam Birkett, joining the business in the early 2000s, heralding the start of a period of growth fuelled by contracts supplying checkout and back-office seating to some of the UK’s leading supermarket chains. Carly and Adam since assumed full responsibility for the day-to-day running of the business, taking over as joint managing directors when Mike passed away in 2016, with Elaine remaining company secretary.

Now, our eye-catching designs and clever use of colour can be found in high-end retail settings and car showrooms across the country, as well as in universities and office settings. The business still manufactures the majority of products at our Liversedge factory.

Commenting on the business’ extraordinary longevity, joint managing director Adam said: “Throughout our history, we have built our reputation on the quality of our products and the exceptional service we offer our customers, and we believe this will stand us in good stead for the future. The pandemic and Brexit have both underlined the importance of British supply chains, and as the country begins to unlock for what is set to be a busy summer, we’re expecting plenty of demand from retail, office, and hospitality customers who want to reconfigure ahead of reopening – and we’re well-placed to help them with that.”

Joint MD Carly explained: “Apart from a brief shut-down at the start of the pandemic, we have been operational throughout, and have used this time to invest in our capability – from implementing a testing regime to keep staff safe, to setting up a new and improved website to showcase more of our vast product range and our bespoke manufacturing capability.”

Elaine Scott added: “This past year has presented us with some unique challenges, but after forty years in business we’ve weathered our share of storms, and we are determined to come out of this stronger as well. This company is our family’s legacy, and some of our staff here have been with us almost from the beginning, so we have a proud history and hopefully an exciting future to match.”

For more information about Y F Furniture call 01924 520040 or email sales@yffurnitures.co.uk.