Growing Pains

For three months last year, orders were pouring in with increasing gusto at the same time as we were undertaking a £3.5m refurbishment programme to upgrade our production lines. We were were struggling to keep up with the demand for our tortillas, wraps and chapattis.

People would sympathetically say to me: "That is a nice problem to have." But they were wrong. For me personally - and as a company concerned about the ethics by which it operates - letting customers down is about as bad as it gets. Our problem came shortly after one of our competitors sadly went out of business owing to a fire at its factory, and the whole industry was busy taking up the slack, so it was not easy to out-source production. Fortunately, we are now out of that crisis and have returned to our customary high service levels. And, our tortillas are better than ever, utilising the tighter controls made possible by our new state-of-the-art machinery.

During that difficult period, we determined we would require more capacity if we were to continue to grow. Foolhardily - or courageously, depending on your point of view - we ordered two additional production lines from America, and set about finding a home for them.

One of the advantages of being a private business is the freedom to take decisions quickly and put them into practise without delay. Fortunately, we succeeded in obtaining excellent new premises in Milton Keynes - and this third site will open in mid-March.

What lessons have we learnt from this stage in our development? People like to do business with a company that offers superior quality, supplies efficiently and understands their specific needs. Capacity modelling and forecasting demand constant attention and improvement. Investment decisions can be protracted and over-analysed - at some point you have to listen to your instincts. That is the time when entrepreneurship takes over from the rigour of management.

As a business, and as individuals, we have come through this testing period stronger than before. We have learnt more about endurance and perseverance and, ultimately, patience - because there are some things you simply cannot fix overnight.