Doors and windows are such a common feature of life that we barely notice them.

However, for a major employer in Maryport, designing and building these apertures which we casually throw open and push through every day is a big business, covering the whole of the UK. West Port recently won the National Fenestration Award for ‘Timber Company Of The Year’.

The firm has been part of the town since 1996 and celebrates its 25th anniversary this month. It was originally founded by James Watson, who developed an existing materials business to specialise in windows and doors. Directors Sean Parnaby and David Reay have managed the business for more than 20 years before taking it over in a management buyout in 2018. Sean, managing director, and David, finance director, are still very much involved alongside operations director Warren Wood and sales director Ian Newey.

Today, West Port’s windows and doors can be found in buildings of all types across the UK, with 60 per cent of its business coming from supplying fire doors. "We're probably the biggest bespoke manufacturer of timber windows and doors in the UK," says Warren. "At West Port we provide a high quality, consistent product with the ability to produce large volumes with industry standard accreditation and a large back catalogue of ‘Primary Test Evidence’ which makes us really attractive.We can produce windows and doors of all shapes and sizes from three-metre high sliding sash windows to large or small fire doors.”

The windows and doors they produce can be as ornate or as utilitarian as required, adorning everything from social housing projects, to major hospitals, listed buildings to country cottages. Thermal efficiency, security and safety are some of the key features for the company’s products. Just some of the projects it has worked on include supplying 4000 windows and 2000 entrance doors for Center Parcs’ holiday village in Bedfordshire, as well as hundreds of windows for the A-listed Victorian G1 office building in Glasgow.

West Port’s staff of more than 120 includes a team of estimators and designers that can work with architects and specifiers to come up with bespoke solutions for every different project - no matter how many there may be - which are then delivered to site fully factory finished ready to be installed. "Whenever you measure an aperture in a building, that aperture is going to be different from one doorway or window to the next," says marketing manager Mark Metcalf. “Every product is bespoke.”

The firm's 175,000 square foot facility in Maryport can provide Forestry Stewardship Council (FSC) certified timber in a mixture of hardwood and softwood which is imported from a supplier in Estonia. Once arrived the timber is cut by a series of machines so it can be assembled into door or window frames. Fire doors arrive as blanks, which are already highly fire resistant. These blanks are then machined to millimetre accurate tolerances to meet the design required.

In addition to the fire safety measures, doors are also made in line with the Secure by Design scheme developed by the police force, which means they are able to meet certain security standards. Ironmongery and door furniture comes from a wide range of UKCA accredited suppliers, while high tech paint is all provided by German paint company Remmers.

Both doors and frames are passed through a huge electrostatic spray painting facility - with a choice of 50,000 colours on offer. The automated paint plant recycles overspray reducing the environmental impact and improves cost efficiency. Glass is added as necessary, plus any ironmongery such as handles, locks, letter boxes, door closers or electronic openers, and the finished items are then packed and distributed. Around 10,000 doors come out of the factory every year, alongside 5000 windows. No matter what they may look like, the fire doors West Port produces have to meet rigorous safety standards to ensure they can withstand fire for either 30 or 60 minutes. In simple terms if they haven’t tested the fire door they wont sell it.

In 2018, Sean invented a data pin which is the basis for West Port’s sister business Contactless Check Solutions (CCS). The CCS pin can be inserted into fire doors and comes in every one of West Port’s fire doors as standard. The pin gives each door a unique identity. When the door is inspected or maintenance work is carried out, data is added to a database which keeps a track of all the activity. The data pin has developed into a full fire door management system.

Last year, Sean helped set up the Maryport Business Group (MBG) negotiating with Remmers to offer 2000 litres of free paint to business owners in the centre of Maryport as part of the ‘Paint the Town project’. Business owners were able to choose from nine different colours to repaint masonry and woodwork with the scheme being overseen by the Maryport Business Group, of which Sean is the chair. 

 

Sean says: “With West Port being one of Maryport’s biggest employers we see it as our responsibility to create initiatives like the ‘paint the town’. MBG have been involved in the town regeneration government-backed schemes encouraging the use of local companies and local employment and over the next three years will see Maryport with its rich history being regenerated as a go to place to visit."