Listers. 40 years in the making.

Let’s face it, the fenestration industry is hard work. Window companies are scrabbling over a very congested marketplace and unfortunately many have fallen by the wayside as the competition gets tougher and tougher.

So to have 40 successful years under your belt is a remarkable achievement and that’s exactly what Lister Trade Frames of Stoke on Trent have achieved this year.

Established in 1976 and operating from a shed at the bottom of the then owner’s garden, nobody could have foreseen the impact that Listers would have in the market place.

Mark Warren, Managing Director takes up the story. “I joined Listers fabricating PVCu windows in 1987 bringing the workforce to just 3 people. PVCu was a relatively new product and we truly made hay whilst the sun shone, rapidly outgrowing and expanding our premises and eventually moving our factory into the centre of Stoke on Trent.”

Over the following 10 years Listers focus on quality products and effective marketing saw sales blossom from an annual turnover of just £200k to over £3Million and employing over 50 staff.

“We’ve had lots of competition over the years but our focus on building long lasting Trade Partnerships has always worked in our favour,” remarked Mark, “often being the first in the UK to deliver new products and standards of service our innovation and strategy has always kept us ahead, strong and successful.” Listers have been recognised for their innovations many times over the years winning numerous top industry awards.

Fast forward to 2012 and the Listers Director team completed a buyout which allowed them the flexibility to push forward once again. And the results were almost instantaneous with Listers recording record sales in 2013 and 2014.

Listers put their success down to constant evaluation of the market, their customer’s needs and their product lines. “We couldn’t afford to stay as a “white window” fabricator otherwise we would have been swallowed up by the demand for more innovative products,” said Mark, “and we pride ourselves on offering the widest customer choice using some of the very best products on the market.”

2016 sees Listers reaching the milestone of 40 years trading. With over 120 employees, new showrooms, a purpose built factory, a fully serviced trade counter, an £11m turnover and of course, a vision of expansion for the next 40 years. And what better way to celebrate 40 years of trading? A huge staff party!

In typical Listers style, they converted their entire car park into a funfair with all the games, concessions, rides and entertainment you could think of, along with full bar and catering. “It’s an achievement for Listers to have hit 40 years trading and the thanks has to go to our staff for all of their support over the decades,” said Mark. “We honestly couldn’t have achieved what we have without their help and this 40th anniversary bash is just a little thank you from all of the Directors to our team.”

It has been an impressive journey and what is immediately apparent is that Listers consider the last 40 years as only the start of what will become an even more remarkable history.