A COMPANY which designs and manufactures special seating products for the disabled is expanding its headquarters to meet growing demand.
Work is already under way on the twostorey, 10,000ft extension to Specialised Orthotic Services’ (SOS) base at the Fauld Industrial Park, in Fauld Lane, near Tutbury.
Bosses say the development will help fulfil the firm’s four-week ‘from commission to delivery’ commitment while providing showrooms where extra staff can demonstrate products.
Sales and marketing manager Tracy Minor said SOS had already taken on five staff during the past three months and was likely to recruit a further five in the next year. She said that at a time when the UK economy was struggling to recover from the recession, the company was ‘bucking the trend’, a status which afforded it ‘a very privileged position’.
The extension’s ground floor will house demonstration rooms showcasing SOS’s 20-strong range of products so commissioners and users can see how they will look and perform in different environments.
The extra space will include demonstration, school, bed, living and bath rooms.
Other departments, such as upholstery, sales and marketing, customer services, and technical and planning teams, will also move into the new extension.
SOS managing director Gordon McQuilton said: “Due to the success of new innovations and our continuous product development, we need more space and staff.
“This extension to the existing building will allow us to host open days for teams of occupational therapists and wheelchair services to really showcase our products.
“They’ll be able to see the products in action and the benefits they can bring.
“In addition, we can give really detailed and thorough factory tours so that they can be assured that all our products are manufactured on-site and are bespoke to the client.
“We’re acutely aware of the lead times our commissioners are working to, which is why we always aim to meet a four-week delivery time.” SOS says the extension will be completed ‘in the next few weeks’, in time for the official opening in October, when key customers will be invited to see the new addition and SOS’s products, including a special seat called a ‘P Pod’.
