Tony Huggins (pictured) has been appointed as managing director of David Bailey Furniture, which claims to be ‘the country’s fastest-growing manufacturer of specialist furniture products for the healthcare sector, schools, medical, and veterinary centres’.
He replaces Trevor Gillman, who now takes on the role of CEO, having been responsible for developing the company over a 33-year period, ‘transforming the business from a medium sized manufacturer of kitchen units, into a UK market-leader for fitted furniture’. The company said: “Trevor’s vision and innovation have seen the development of an extensive range of storage units and other specialist furniture products, which are now widely used in hospitals and healthcare centres across the country.”
Tony Huggins, who joined Broadstairs, Kent-based David Bailey Furniture in September 2021 as Operations manager, is now ‘charged with delivering plans to streamline the business still further’, following a major investment programme which has seen its significantly expand its production capacity. He said: “I intend to implement a five-year lean manufacturing plan for the shopfloor, which involves a fully automated production system that will offer even greater opportunities for our loyal staff, and I am very much looking forward to the challenge. It’s my mission to have a piece of David Bailey furniture in every single hospital in the UK within the next five years. We have the right team in place, and I am sure we can achieve all of our objectives within this period.”
David Bailey Furniture has been established for more than 40 years and employs 38 staff.