Timeless designs, responsible sourcing, and four generations are behind ercol’s continued success
One of the UK’s best-known designers and makers of fine wood furniture, ercol was established in 1920 by Italian designer Lucian Ercolani and has since become a household name synonymous with durability, exemplary craftmanship, and timeless design. From essentials like chairs, sofas, dining tables, desks, and beds to accent pieces like footstools, sideboards, benches, and bookcases, ercol’s wide range of furniture marries comfort and functionality, designed to last generations and evolve with trends.
“Lucian Ercolani was an Italian immigrant who moved to the UK in 1898 and set up his own furniture factory in 1920 under the name Furniture Industries, which is
known today as ercol,” opens Ian Peers, Operations Director. “The business remains family owned, with Henry Tadros, Lucian’s great grandson, serving as Chairman and representing the fourth generation. The family has consistently prioritized people, and that’s why we have a strong reputation and many long-serving employees.
“There’s a classic and functional element to the designs of our furniture, and a lot of our 1950s designs remain popular today, especially with the current resurgence of Mid-Century design principles. However, while our timeless pieces are satisfying long-term customers, we’re also creating new products that serve the needs and preferences of today’s generation. We introduce new products every year, but it’s a delicate balance of retaining loyal customers but also enticing new ones.”
As wood is a natural material, there are several measures in place across ercol’s supply chain to ensure the quality of the material. “We use a high-end grade of timber for our products, but the raw material has all sorts of natural characteristics, and every piece of wood tells a story,” Ian says. “There’s lots of science involved with how we process and dry our timber, but we also strive to educate customers about the natural features that they will see in our wooden furniture.”
Considering ercol furniture is crafted from quality wood, the company’s supply chain plays a key role in its operations. “The majority of our timber was once almost exclusively sourced from the UK, as the business had a sawmill and kilning capacity,” Ian explains. “However, with Dutch Elm disease rife in the UK, many sources dried up, and it became more problematic to rely on our UK supply chain. In the early 1990s, we searched further afield, eventually settling on importing elm from North America, and we purchased a majority share of a business in Minnesota to secure our timber supply. ercol’s timber sourcing then transitioned more to Europe. This enabled us to use a more local supply chain and later close our North American operation.”
Today, ercol remains committed to protecting its supply chain and supporting UK manufacturing, which is exemplified by its partnership with key organizations like The Sylva Foundation and Grown in Britian (GiB). The Sylva Foundation is an environmental charity promoting craft, skills, and woodland management practices that will revive Britain’s wood culture and protect forest produce for a sustainable future. Similarly, GiB is a certification and research body dedicated to securing a better future for our woodlands by strengthening domestic supply chains and reducing the UK’s dependence on imports through improved forest management practices. As the first UK furniture maker to partner with GiB at scale, ercol now offers a range of classic designs manufactured in exclusively British ash. The business is also working with Tyler Hardwoods to supply its GiB certified timber, which has scaled to meet increased demands and become more commercially competitive with Europe.
“Establishing relationships with these bodies has played an important role in accrediting our GiB timber and understanding more about the challenges facing UK woodlands,” Ian says. “There has been huge underinvestment in woodlands for generations, but we’re committed to transforming the future of this space by protecting woodlands and using British timber in our products which supports the UK forestry sector. Being able to source more raw materials from within the UK is a key part of our sustainability strategy, and our GiB range demonstrates that working with sustainable British timber is not only environmentally responsible but also becoming more commercially viable.”
Ian shares how ercol’s approach to British timber and UK manufacturing has helped the business navigate recent challenges. “We’ve experienced numerous disruptions across our supply chains over recent years, with the pandemic and increasing political instability,” he shares. “Having a UK manufacturing operation has played to our advantage, enabling us to mitigate some of the impacts of this volatility. Between 2015 and 2020, we‘ve invested close to £1.5 million in our UK manufacturing operation and have additional investment planned for the coming years, with around 50 percent of our manufacturing currently happening in the UK. The experiences of the last few years have reemphasized the power and benefits of UK manufacturing, and we’re passionate about protecting these operations in the UK moving forward.”
With decades of furniture expertise, ercol blends its traditional handcrafted methods with more advanced machinery. “Our current factory was purpose built in 2002, and it’s not a typical furniture manufacturing plant,” Ian states. “It features lots of glass, a wood fired boiler that processes waste timber, and it also won a RIBA award for best industrial building in the Southeast in 2002.”
In the years leading to 2020, ercol made significant investments to enable multiple machine operations within one setup and reduce changeover times. This has helped to manage increased complexity due to lower volumes and increased variety in demand. These machines allow ercol to utilize the workforce more effectively by freeing up time for secondary tasks, leading to improved productivity.
“However, while we’re investing in technologies and equipment to modernize our manufacturing processing in machining, some elements will always be handcrafted,” Ian says. “Many aspects of our assembly and polishing require human skills to achieve the finish and standards we’re looking for, so we’ll continue to incorporate both technology and handcrafted processes into our teams.”
Creating furniture that lasts a lifetime and beyond, the company’s approach to product longevity also extends to its team, with ercol investing heavily in apprenticeships to train the next generation of its workforce. “For many years, ercol have had access to a healthy pool of skilled labor due to the number of furniture manufacturers that closed down in the surrounding areas,” Ian shares. “Over time and with retirements, skills became more difficult to find, and in 2018 the company began to focus once again on apprenticeships. Since then, we’ve taken on over 30 apprentices across machining, cabinetry, assembly, polishing, engineering, and maintenance. In addition to that we’ve just had someone finish an apprenticeship in our marketing department, and we’ve also just started our first-degree apprenticeship in supply chain.
“Our technical support team are doing an excellent job engaging local schools and colleges, as well as the wider community, to encourage people to consider a career in manufacturing. It’s crucial that we continue to work with the next generation to secure the future of ercol for another century.”
From speaking with Ian, it’s clear to see ercol’s commitment to high-quality production and timeless, relevant designs that attract a wide range of customers. The company’s approach to UK manufacturing and their journey towards sustainability are testament to how a century-old business can honor its legacy while embracing modern practices.