This year marks a special occasion for Centaur Manufacturing as it proudly celebrates five decades of British manufacturing. In this article, we take a look at the key landmarks throughout the brand’s rise to prominence.
Established in 1974, Centaur has gone on to become an established and respected industry name in the field of PVCu cable management.
The company’s journey has been marked by continuous innovation and a dedication to meeting and exceeding customer expectations.
Initially founded to manufacture channel and oval alongside other electrical components, such as switchgear and trade injection moulding and extrusion parts, Centaur opened its first manufacturing facility in Redditch, Worcestershire.
Shortly after this, the company developed its offering to incorporate conduit and fittings, the success of which led to the decision to begin manufacture of the mini and maxi trunking – all of which are still available today.
To cope with the growing demands of the market, prepare for future growth and for more efficient logistics, Centaur moved to its current operational facility in 1987. Double the size of the previous facility, the site was subject to huge investment in additional extrusion lines and an in-house PVCu mixing plant.
In 1992, Centaur’s popular President trunking range was launched, taking its place as one of the first three-part compartment trunking ranges to hit the market. Further investments were then made to ‘tool up’ and manufacture the Campus range in 1996 and the Kensington range in 1999.
In 2003, bench trunking for alternative cable management support in educational and healthcare sectors was introduced, while almost a decade later another significant investment was again put into extrusion lines and injection moulding machines to enable increased stock holding.
The milestones continue
Centaur’s Meridian three compartment dado trunking range was designed and introduced to the market in 2015 to offer a modern, mid-range option, and a more recent milestone saw the renovations of both the state-of-the-art Fabrication Department in 2018 (to accommodate customer specified bespoke solutions) and PVCu mixing plant in 2019.
Over the past 50 years, Centaur has meticulously moulded a diverse product range, all driven by its origins of customer focused product development. This broad spectrum of products caters to the evolving needs of the industry.
In addition, the company has utilised its five decades of experience to fine-tune its ability to create bespoke solutions that go beyond off-the-shelf offerings, and further highlights its dedication to British Manufacturing.
This special fabrication service emphasises a commitment to providing customers with precisely what they require.
Beyond this, Centaur is aware of its environmental responsibility and will continue to proactively work to minimising its impact.
Large investments in plant to aid the process of recycled materials and switching packaging supplies, such as using cardboard along with polythene lay flat tubing and bags containing recycled content, have helped the brand reduce its carbon footprint, achieving Planet Mark and Ecovadis accreditation and further enhancing its commitment to a more sustainable future.
Of course, this all wouldn’t have been possible with a dedicated workforce, which has been the backbone of Centaur’s success. With some staff reaching lengths of service upwards of 45 years, their loyalty and hard work have shaped the legacy Centaur is able to celebrate this year.
Browse the full Centaur Manufacturing product range here
Read more industry feature articles here
