Lambson Building Products and Laminated Products’ commitment to diversity drives success in the era of digital transformation
Five decades of British manufacturing excellence have empowered Lambson Building Products and Laminated Products (Lambson) to establish an outstanding reputation as industry leaders for decorative and raw panel products, bonded panels, profiles, and components. Throughout its history, the company has amassed an unrivalled wealth of expertise and experience within all aspects of design and production, while continually developing and enhancing its manufacturing techniques to maintain the highest standards of quality and customer satisfaction. Today, Lambson stands as a trusted supplier to some of Europe’s largest leisure, marine, modular, and off-site construction manufacturers, thanks to its remarkable track record.
With us today is David Bean, Operations Director, who introduces the company by briefly retracing its history. “It is important to note that we operate two trading businesses: Lambson Building Products, and Laminated Products. Lambson Building Products was founded in 1966 and underwent a management buyout in 2003. Subsequently, in 2005, we acquired Laminated Products, prompting us to move our production to its site between 2006 and 2007,” he opens.
With the product portfolio of two distinct businesses unified into one entity, Lambson’s offerings are diverse and cover multiple industries. “We specialize in applying decorative surfaces to panels, with plywood being one of the main materials that we aesthetically enhance. Our products cater to the leisure home market, primarily for internal walls and ceilings, as well as the marine industry, for which we provide materials to construct furniture, along with decorative moldings, internal doors, worktop systems, and all sorts of lightweight products. Since we possess the ability to bond almost any material together, we also manufacture composite panels, expanding our range of products and capabilities,” David enlightens.
“Our broad product portfolio is all manufactured within our facility in Castleford, UK. Our overall storage and manufacturing facilities span approximately 200,000 square feet. Around 50 percent of the space is dedicated to the manufacturing process. Adjacent to the factory is our feeder warehouse, supplying raw material requirements for the manufacturing process. In fact, we maintain no finished stock because we manufacture everything to customer order, in the exact batch quantity they require. This approach can be challenging given that our inventory boasts over 26,000 live products. We are a true Tier 1 supplier to our customer base. We can offer full sales, planning, manufacture, dispatch and logistics, mirroring the exact line performance of our customers process, automatically updating thousands of order lines and tens of thousands of manufacturing processes within the planning systems, creating new finish dates and realigning gross requirements for purchasing, all this at a press of a button. As a result of our on-demand model, we have a complex supply chain, with imports coming from all over the world.”
Through a commitment to staff wellbeing, teamwork, customer satisfaction, and leadership development, Lambson aims to strengthen its position as a trusted supplier. By fostering diversity of thought, inclusion, exceptional partnerships, and manufacturing excellence, the company sets the benchmark for a brighter future. 
From product portfolio to internal operations, David discusses Lambson’s culture and shares details of the company’s partnership with GiANT. By combining assessments, training, and practical tools, its 5 Voices framework is empowering its teams to drive positive change and achieve their full potential within the organization.
“Nurturer, Creative, Guardian, Connector, and Pioneer. Each voice represents a different focus and strength within a business, with either a present focus or a future focus. Nurturers, the most common at 42 percent of the population, prioritize the present well-being of people over tasks. Creatives look to the future, generating innovative ideas and concepts. Guardians, representing 30 percent, focus on present operational efficiency. Connectors excel at building relationships and networks. Lastly, Pioneers (into which category I fall) make up seven percent of the global population. We are very future-oriented and think strategically about the long-term of our businesses.
“Among the 50 Lambson employees that have taken the assessment, 43 percent were Nurturers, demonstrating the accuracy of GiANT’s analysis. In total, present voices (Nurturers, Creatives and Guardians) should make up 82 percent of the workforce. If they are not allowed to speak first in any collaboration, they feel that their input is not relevant, meaning that 82 percent of the organization may not contribute to its mission and goal. At Lambson, we place a heavy emphasis on listening to each other. Because my voice, as a Pioneer, is rather forceful, I usually speak last during meetings, allowing everybody else to bring their points forward. Understanding each employee’s voice enables effective communication and empowers anyone to be a strong leader,” he goes on.
“Our leadership development is about improving self-awareness, communication, and team dynamics. Each voice has unique strengths and potential challenges, and understanding these can significantly impact leadership effectiveness.”
Indeed, as industries become more invested in digital transformation, companies like Lambson will need new leaders with different leadership styles. By partnering with GiANT, the company can learn more about creating these potential leaders and embracing the unique strengths of its staff, which will complement digitalization. “Even though artificial intelligence (AI) and technology are helpful in many ways, every business still needs a human element. Humans possess a creativity that AI simply cannot replicate due to its limited knowledge, which is vital to the growth of a business. Therefore, our objective at Lambson is to keep good people within our organization who can build real connections with customers and ensure that those relationships flourish,” ends David.
Lambson is committed to teamwork, customer satisfaction, and developing strong leaders. By embracing diverse perspectives, cultivating exceptional partnerships, and maintaining manufacturing excellence, Lambson is building a brighter future as a trusted industry leader.