Wakefield wardrobe door specialist set for ‘transformational’ growth through university partnership

A wardrobe door manufacturer in West Yorkshire has formed a new partnership to support its plans for growth.

Global Doors has teamed up with business and management specialists at Leeds Beckett University to support its plans to scale up operations.

Based in Wakefield, Global Doors Ltd is a multi-channel manufacturer of sliding wardrobe doors, supplying independent kitchen, bedroom and bathroom retailer showrooms, housebuilders, architects, specifiers, interior designers and the leisure industry.

The firm will work with a team at the Leeds Business School, led by Dr Catherine Ashworth, on a two-year project to boost its growth capabilities by transforming its management structures, including operations, human resources, leadership and marketing.

Matthew Fletcher, commercial director at Global Doors, explained: “Our partnership with Leeds Beckett will allow us to push the business forward faster and with more confidence.

“Working with Leeds Beckett allows us to tap into the managerial experts at the university, streamlining our business processes and increasing our productivity and management capability.

“We are investing huge resources into creating an even stronger, more dynamic leadership team to enable our projected growth. As a small business, to have this expertise from Leeds Beckett helping and guiding us will be invaluable.”

The project is one of the country’s first Management Knowledge Transfer Partnerships (mKTP), receiving financial support from the UK government department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy (BEIS) through Innovate UK.

Dr Ashworth added: “I am delighted to be the academic lead on this joint project which will transform the culture of Global Doors and embed key capabilities across all functional areas of the business. Through this, we will improve their operational conductivity and create a strong platform for growth.

“We will embed a structured approach to management - at both strategic and operational levels - to improve both the productivity and sustainability of Global Doors.”