One of the great names in British furniture, ercol, was based in High Wycombe for many years and in 2002 moved to a spacious purpose-built factory in Princes Risborough, one of the reasons for its continued success.
Never a company to shy away from change, today they embrace the future and look at every opportunity to stay up to date and achieve competitive advantage.
So, when Wycombe Furniture Forum (WFF) was planning its first face to face meeting and the subject was AI, ercol was the first location that came to mind to host the event held in April this year.
On the day, Chairman of ercol Henry Tadros - part of the team that helped to establish WFF back in 2024 - welcomed members to the site and conducted a factory tour that showed how furniture is produced in the factory by combining traditional craftsmanship with modern technology.
The award-winning keynote speaker, Jamie Claret (CEO of Autonomate AI), spoke about the challenges and opportunities AI presents to the industry, both in manufacturing and back-office activities. He spoke about how businesses need to prepare in advance to secure the many benefits offered.
Operations Director at ercol, Ian Peers, says being open to future opportunities like AI remains key to the continued success of ercol. The attendance of forward-thinking local furniture manufacturers demonstrates that they are not alone.
Showing the continued importance of ercol to High Wycombe, David Finch, Managing Director, confirmed that much of the expert workforce lives in High Wycombe and have worked for ercol for many years.
A photographic and video record of the event was made by Jake Mayhew of Hewwy Media House, a local business based in High Wycombe.
WFF continues its work to promote furniture as a worthwhile career to young people. This year WFF exhibited at the Bucks Skills Show alongside ercol and William Hands. The show spanned two days and 6,000 young people visited. The WFF stand showed modern elements of the furniture design process with a demonstration of scanning and CAD provided by WFF Operations Team member David Knight of Eagle Eye Developments, whose work can be seen in the newly opened Mr T’s café in White Hart Street.
A membership drive is underway at WFF. There is an Associate Membership category, Friends, who are furniture enthusiasts, perhaps former employees in the industry. This category is free to applicants. To join go to the website thewff.uk.