Group MD and founder David Furness, his brother Mark Furness and Scott Rogers have been joined on the Rapierstar board by Andrew Carroll (Chartered Director and Fellow of the Institute of Directors) to assist with strategic planning and development.
Andrew, who has worked on growth strategies with PLCs and SMEs for 20+ years, observed, “Rapierstar is already a great business but we are always challenging our thinking to ensure continued success.”
Mark Furness joined as Sales & Marketing Director in 2011. Working mainly for blue-chip companies such as ExxonMobil and ITW Inc. he has more than 30 years’ experience in sales, marketing, business management and training. This encompassed work throughout Europe, America, North Africa and the Middle East, with both his own sales teams and independent product distributors and agents.
“Whilst fasteners may only be small components within the overall finished window or door, they are crucial to delivering outstanding finished products to homeowners and developers,” says Mark. “At Rapierstar we are always looking at how we can use our technical know-how to enable customers to do things even better, whilst also maintaining our hard-earned reputation for quality and credible warranties.”
Scott (Finance & Operations Director) has 20+ years’ experience in audit, accountancy and project management working on supply chain software and logistics with leading PLCs and private companies in the UK and Ireland. “Most of my career,” says Scott, “has been helping other businesses with their operational challenges, but now I’m using that experience to run the most secure and reliable logistics in our industry.”
The primary objective of the board is to further strengthen Rapierstar’s market leading position for supplying specialist fixings and fasteners designed for the UK & Irish fenestration market, with the highest product quality, deepest stock-holding and unrivalled knowledgeable technical support.
David Furness concludes, “I have enjoyed working with Mark and Scott for many years as we developed Rapierstar together. I met Andrew more recently while completing my IoD Diploma and we subsequently worked closely together while he supported me to gain Chartered Director accreditation.
“It’s reassuring to have such varied experience and skill sets, as Rapierstar continues to grow rapidly. Our 25% YoY increase in 2018 sales reflects fabricator demand for greater supply chain reliability and higher quality products to support their improved efficiency. Rapierstar will continue to invest in developing products, logistics and stockholding at our 100,000 sq. ft. bonded warehouse and Technical Centre in Cheshire, where we now stock over one billion screws!”
