13 minute read
Atlas Leisure Homes
PROJECT DIRECTED BY Glen Newton
WRITTEN BY Laura Watling
Open-plan living space from one of Atlas’ new Oakwood Lodge homes.
Steven McGawn, MD, Atlas Leisure Homes
The Great British Staycation: Proudly Made In Yorkshire
Despite international travel opening up again for holidaymakers and business people alike, staycations are here to, well, stay. According to the Staycation Market Report delivered by Parkdean Resorts, 53% of Brits intended to holiday in the UK in 2022.
This data is reflected by the booking sheet and growth story of Atlas Leisure Homes. Proudly based in Hull, the business has been in the leisure home market for over 30 years.
Managing Director, Steven McGawn, speaks to Business Enquirer about Atlas’s plans to develop both the business and the local community.
Atlas Leisure Homes
Focussed on delivering leisure homes driven by quality design and innovation, Atlas Leisure Homes is one of the most recognised holiday home brands on the market.
The leisure homes range from the smallest 28 x 10 foot, 6 berth Festival, through to the highspec, top of-the-range 44 x 22 foot, Debonair Lodge, complete with Belfast sink and range cooker.
“At Atlas we aim to cater for all budget requirements, without sacrificing luxury,” said Steven, “all of our homes are well made and robust”.
Nearly all of Atlas’ suppliers are UK based. “We’ve not been immune to the supply chain pressures, but we work closely with them to ensure they have visibility of our upcoming workload,” said Steven.
Market upswing
After 25-years in banking, Steven joined Atlas Leisure Homes in 2017 as Commercial Director. He was tasked with a specific remit of leading an MBO and allowing the existing shareholders to exit.
The buyout completed on 31st January 2019. This meant the new management team (with Steven now as Managing Director) had little over a year of ‘normal’ trading prior to the COVID lockdowns in the UK.
“After the initial scare of lockdown, the vast majority of holiday park operators could foresee the potential upswing in the staycation market. A combination of an order backlog from the mandatory COVID lockdown and increased demand meant we needed to find a solution to fulfil orders at our usual rate,” explained Steven.
to our staff. “
In answer to this, Atlas leased a new production site, adding two additional production lines and a brand-new machine shop, with the business investing in excess of £1 million. Now, the business has four production lines, two catering for high-end twin lodges.
“Within three months of signing the new lease we had fitted a brand-new manufacturing facility and completed the first holiday home of the line. It was a team effort and a testament to our staff,” shared Steven.
As part of the production facility expansion, Atlas grew from 250 employees in 2020 to 465 by completion of the new site.
Lifestyle Feature
Construction underway at Atlas’ new production site.
Proud to supply Atlas Leisure Homes for over 15 years with all aspects of soft furnishings
enquiries@thebelfieldgroup.com 01159 071 700
www.thebelfieldgroup.com
Atlas Leisure Homes
A unique offering
Atlas’s longevity in the marketplace can, in part, be attributed to its unique offering, with every leisure home being built to order.
The manufacturer’s products are known for being robust and well made, as well as handmade. “We cut and mill the majority of our own wood, so most of our wooden furnishings are bespoke and handmade,” explained Steven, “we also have the ability to press our own doors”.
Steven also highlighted that a changing demographic has meant the business has had to develop its offering. “Although our key demographic is still 50 years old and above, we are seeing younger families using our product. They are more tech savvy and desire a higher finish,” he said, “the Oakwood Lodge is our newest twin lodge designed to meet the modern needs,”
Featuring a large, light and airy living space, along with a modern (and hidden!) ensuite, the Oakwood is inspired by loft living, and looks to rival AirBnB properties.
Although designed with the end-user in mind, Atlas’ buyers are mostly the holiday parks in which the leisure homes reside.
“We work closely with our customers to ensure they are offering their end-user the best experience on site. However, it is imperative to us that we don’t allow parks to over order - offering that guidance is key to our relationship,” said Steven.
One of the bedrooms of Atlas’ new ‘Oakwood Lodge’ line of homes
Atlas Leisure Homes
Tackling the labour shortage
Like many industries, caravan manufacturing faces a labour shortage. The issue is compounded by a majority of caravan manufacturers being based around the Humber, making the pool of qualified staff more diluted. In answer to this, Atlas has created its own training academy. “We take on a cohort of 10 at a time, placing them on a 13-week inhouse training programme, designed to skill them in a niche area we have a requirement for,” explained Steven.
Since starting the programme 9 months ago, Atlas have trained over 40 young people, with a retention rate of 65%. “We’re really proud of this achievement, and enabling young people in the area to start a career,” he said.
What Atlas’s scheme currently lacks is an official qualification at the end of the 13 weeks. The business is working with other leisure home manufacturers in the region in partnership with local schools, colleges, and authorities to create a certified programme. “It’s still in its infancy, but we think this step forward will be good for the city as well as the industry,” shared Steven.
Steven’s leadership ethos, which is now part of the business’ culture, is simple: “Treat people how you want to be treated, and allow people to make mistakes,” he said.
The Managing Director shared that Atlas’ culture has changed dramatically since the buyout in 2019, from a top-down approach to one which encourages collaboration throughout the business.
“We’ve reintroduced committee meetings to give staff a voice, as well as giving them the opportunity to develop through training,” he said, “we like to be able to promote within, encourage colleagues to learn from failures and ultimately want our staff to come to work and be proud of our product”.
DomappistheUK’sleadingsuppliertotheholiday homemanufacturers,withcompetitiveprices& excellentservice. Thismeansthatwecanofferdirectreplacements tothecaravanparks. Ourexpertstaffhaveacomprehensiveknowledge ofbothdomesticappliancesand theleisureindustry. Weprideourselvesonouroutstandingcustomer serviceandqualityproducts.
info@domapp.co.uk www.bonus-group.co.uk
Lifestyle Feature
Gateway Chassis Solutions Solid support for the holiday home industry
Gateway Chassis Solutions has been supplying Atlas Leisure Homes continuously for a number of years, for all their ranges and on all types of chassis, from painted lattice through to the fully galvanised I-Beam.
JOINT SUCCESS AND GROWTH
Talking about the partnership between Gateway and Atlas, Gateway Chassis Solutions’ Managing Director Chris Ramsden said; “It’s a pleasure to work with such a progressive company as Atlas Leisure Homes, and to be working on holiday homes that will bring so much pleasure to holidaymakers.
“While the UK staycation market has boomed, the park and leisure home industry has seen unprecedented challenges in the supply chain in the past couple of years, both in the logistics of supply and the pricing. This has undoubtedly put pressure on suppliers, manufacturers and parks to work harder than ever to manage these changes so transparency, trust and good working relationships are paramount in terms of getting the best for the end buyer, without delays or unnecessary price loading. That makes a difference for everyone involved, and we’re happy to be established as one of Atlas’ trusted partners.
He continued; “Market forces have meant growth for us. With the increase in demand for holiday homes we’ve all gone through a period of growth to scale up production. For us, there were three clear priorities; consistency of supply, managing the cost of supply to our customers as carefully as possible, and managing the quality benchmarks during that growth period.”
CONTINUOUS INVESTMENT
Recent investment in new plant and machinery has added a new automated saw, a punching and cropping line, and another new Gateway Chassis Solutions truck in addition to the three added in 2020 – all deployed to increase output and delivery capabilities. The firm has also ramped up its operational capability from a staffing perspective this year with a 40% increase in the shop floor workforce, and a firm bolstering of the management team to support the new growth. Chris added; “It was important for us that this was carefully managed. Like our products, core stability is our mantra, and we remain in a solid position to respond to fluctuations in demand going forward, while also matching our customers’ requirements fully as they also experience significant growth.”
DESIGN EXCELLENCE
At Gateway Chassis Solutions, every chassis is designed to suit the home that is built on it, whether it’s a chassis in the main range or a bespoke option. Care and consideration are given to the load distribution of the building, positioning and siting of heavy components such as kitchen and bathrooms. Using Finite Element Analysis (FEA) & 3D CAD modelling the chassis are assessed against the anticipated home weight to ensure it meets the structural requirements of the building it will be supporting.
This is also where Gateway’s ‘Value Added, Value Engineered’ ethos really kicks in. With global steel prices continuing to rise, there is an ongoing determination to minimise the cost impact to customers through this smarter, more efficient design and manufacturing process, while not compromising the strength of the chassis’. Quality and safety are paramount requirements, so each individual chassis is manufactured to the National Caravan Council Code of Practice.
ADDING VALUE AT EVERY STAGE
It’s not just at the manufacturing point that value is added. The chassis is the foundation of the completed home, although normally it is not even visible after it is sited, it goes through quite a journey before it reaches its destination. Gateway considers all these stages to ensure that the home gives the owner the safe, comfortable, secure and sustainable structural foundation they should expect and deserve, taking into account the practicalities of siting from a park and transport perspective.
Consideration is given during the design stage to assist all Gateway’s home manufacturing partners with the assembly, taking into account their own production needs. Things such as siting of utilities, ease of assembly, manoeuvrability and accuracy are considered to make things run as smoothly as possible. Care is also given to ensuring the chassis’ are safely transported and delivered in the same condition as they left the factory. To ensure the home arrives on site in the best condition possible Gateway has factored in special anchor points within their designs to ensure that the chassis’ are transported in a safe and secure way with minimum movement, secured rigidly ready for transit with purpose-made frames.
TRANSPORT AND SITING
When the completed home is transported from the factory to the site, this is probably the furthest the home will ever travel in its lifetime and it must survive both the elements and vibration caused by road surfaces. When the home arrives on site, the design also facilitates easy positioning. The detachable jockey wheel, which can be quickly released and moved from “front to back” gives the chassis maximum manoeuvrability before it reaches its final destination.
Steven McGawn, MD at Atlas said; “Our manufacturing supply partners have to work to the same high quality and key objectives that we do, and we work closely together to ensure that. Solid and reliable partners like Gateway Chassis Solutions who can deliver reliably at a fair price point are paramount, and with their keen eye on introducing further cutting-edge technologies, we are confident that they are constantly striving to give us good value for money, even with the challenges the marketplace has seen in the past couple of years.”
He continued; “Chris and the wider team at Gateway have been integral to our recent growth and are very easy to work with. Excellent communication between both Senior Teams has been fundamental in growing this relationship and we look forward to the continued innovation and success of both businesses.”
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION
To find out more email info@gateway-chassis.co.uk, call 01482 485170 or visit www.gateway-chassis.co.uk
Lifestyle Feature
A period of calm
In the next 12-18 months, Steven foresees a period of consolidation for the business. “After the growth period we’ve seen, it’s prudent for Atlas to consolidate, review how we’re working and then look at how we can make the business more efficient,” he said.
Next steps for the business are to assess how it can fulfil sustainability briefs. Atlas’s leisure homes are already made of many sustainable elements - using wood and steel for the shell and interior fixtures, fitted with LED lighting, superior insulation and some with alternative heating sources.
“We need to investigate how we can make Atlas’s leisure homes better,” explained Steven, “for example, could we incorporate solar panels or electric charging”.
“The challenge here,” he continued “is ensuring the parks are onboard and fit to host these improvements”.
Made in Yorkshire
With the next two years looking more than comfortable for the firm, the leadership team are looking at further ways to develop the business. This includes conversion of an area within their own 18 acres of land currently used for storage.
“With the annual trade shows being cancelled during the pandemic, we realised customers didn’t have an opportunity to physically come and see what we have to offer. We have plans to launch a showground here, on site,” explained Steven, “this would allow our Park customers to visit yearround, and not need to search out a park that has one of our models in situ”.
Atlas are keen to make the potential showground as sustainable as possible. With the development in the early stages, ways to make this happen are under research. With a new Marketing Manager in place at Atlas Leisure Homes, Steven hopes to make communications stronger both internally and externally. Part of this communication plan will be presenting to local schools to encourage leavers to buy into the Atlas ethos, seeing the opportunity for a career, rather than “just a job”.
Condor Carpets is proud to be supplier of Atlas Leisure Homes
To see our full range, please contact your local carpets retailers
“Atlas are proud of its product and where it’s manufactured in Yorkshire - the industry should be rightly proud of its collective achievements too,” he closed.
www.atlasleisurehomes.co.uk
Atlas Leisure Homes
