75 Years of Thorpes #4 - Schools, boats and family influence
In our last blog, we looked at the rapid expansion of the company, from a small workshop servicing the local community into a fully-fledged family business supplying education authorities up and down the country.
JT Thorpe & Son was nationally established and ready for the next chapter.
Examples of some of the specialist educational equipment being supplied by JT Thorpe and Son
A Change at the Top
As we entered the mid-Sixties, “Jack” Thorpe had been at the helm for two decades, and along with his son, John had grown the company from a one-man operation from a small workshop in his garden, into a company employing around 30 people, with a purpose-built factory in Great Glen, Leicestershire.
It was around this time that Jack decided the time was right to hand over the reins, that he had achieved all he had hoped and wanted to retire to spend time with his family and pursue his own personal projects.
John had worked within the company for nearly 10 years, and had played a key role in driving the company's evolution. Of course, his time had not only existed in a management role. John had worked in all parts of the business, from delivery driver covering the length and breadth of the company, to spray shop operative, as is often the case in family firms, John understood the company down to it’s very core and was a natural choice as successor.
Maintaining Momentum
John A Thorpe hard at work in the spray shop
John’s task was simple on the face of it, continue the momentum, continue to grow, and continue to serve our clients with the values that had served JT Thorpe & Son so well for 20 years.
However, as anyone who has worked in business knows, things are rarely so simple. John was met with a plethora of challenges. Scaling up is not straightforward, and with the orders coming thick and fast, it was crucial this process was done efficiently and effectively.
What was most important to John and his trusted team, was that while they added new staff members, new processes, new suppliers, and new ways of delivering projects, the company retained the core of what made Thorpes, Thorpes.
Great emphasis was placed upon communication, apprenticeships, and promotion from within, a policy that paid dividends, as the company continued to grow. By 1979, the company had nearly 50 full-time employees, many of whom were current or former apprentices, and had new facilities. 8,000 sq. ft. was taken on in nearby Fleckney, and Descon Systems procured to focus purely on panel manufacturing. John had navigated a potentially tricky period.
Boys Will Be Boys
Following a life spent on his feet, creating, building and helping others, it was always unlikely that Jack was going to disappear off to enjoy a quiet retirement. Instead, he decided to give himself a bit of a challenge.
Whilst at a bric-a-brac sale, Jack happened upon a small, pocket-sized nautical almanac. Within it’s pages was a to-scale technical drawing of a ‘cabin cruiser’ style boat.
Wind in the Sails
Now, this drawing was not intended for manufacturing purposes, but more as an illustration, something to give a bit of life and depth to the publication.
For Jack, however, this was all he needed to decide on his next project.
And so, armed with a magnifying glass and an area of the factory unwillingly donated for his use by a now rather frustrated John Thorpe, Jack set to work.
Jack’s latest project underway
I, for one, do not profess to understand boat construction, and as John A Thorpe puts it, neither did Jack. The difference between us, however, is as we know, Jack possed a prodigious creative flair and an intrinsic understanding of how things come together.
In the following months, the appropriately named “Jenny Glen” began to take shape. Named after his wife and hometown, piece by piece the not-insignificant structure of the hull, cockpit, helm, and gunwale (thank you Google!) were built.
The First of Many
Once complete, the Jenny Glen faced two fairly daunting challenges. Firstly, actually leaving the factory, which was navigated using a crane, several members of staff and Jack’s sheer force of will. Secondly, would the Jenny Glen actually prove seaworthy? Happily, yes. Even with the paint barely dried, Jack’s craft stood up to its final test and was used for many years.
In fact, ever the perfectionist, Jack decided that the Jenny Glen could be improved, and would go own to make three iterations of the same name, something he took great pride in.
Lessons Learned
Aside from being a hugely enjoyable story about our maverick owner, this explains a lot about Thorpes Joinery as a company in the present day. Our heritage is one of creativity, ingenuity, and craftsmanship. Taking pride in what we do is inherent at all levels and this is something that Jack would’ve been pleased to see still exists in the modern day.
Our next blog covers a large period from the 90s until the present day, and the stewardship of the third John Thorpe at Thorpes Joinery Limited.