Griffiths and Hood was formed in 1964 as a partnership between Ron Griffiths and Ted Hood. The company was initially created to manufacture made-to-measure, bespoke furniture, however the partners found it increasingly difficult to source quality veneered panels. So, Griffiths & Hood made the defining decision to create their own veneered panels.
In 1970, as a result of the increase in demand for office furniture, the decision was made to form the partnership into a Limited Company which quickly outgrew its original premises in Hockley. At one time Griffiths & Hood was operating three sites constructing veneered panels. By 1980, Griffiths & Hood’s operations were brought under one roof, at our current address on Progress road in Leigh-on-Sea, Essex.
In 1977 Ted Hood passed away and Ron Griffiths took complete control of the joinery company. Two years later the current Managing Director, Kevin Griffiths, started work in the factory at the age of 19. In late 1981 the remaining founder Ron Griffiths passed away, leaving his wife Pat as the only shareholder.
One of the first pieces of office furniture: Mahogany bank manager’s desk - 1964.
With trends now coming full circle, this desk wouldn’t look out of place in some of today’s offices.
Interwood Press (Photo taken in 1970).
This was one of the first machines purchased by the company
The first step in modernisation was the purchase of a flow-line press to assist in the creation of architectural veneer. Between 1985 and 2000 bottlenecks in the manufacturing process were identified and new machinery purchased and installed to ensure efficient production.
By 1991, the total floor space including office and factory was increased to 25,000 sq. ft. and the workforce had now reached 55. A year later, the company began its bespoke office furniture service for custom veneer. This overtook the sale of veneer panels to such an extent that since 1997, bespoke furniture production has accounted for over 80% of total sales at Griffiths & Hood. To this day, Griffiths & Hood remains a leading supplier of bespoke office furniture and veneered panels.
Griffiths & Hood employs staff with a combined experience of over 350 years in veneered panel and bespoke office furniture production. In recent years Laura Fance and Jennie Griffiths celebrated 45 and 35 years respectively at the company, first joining as juniors in 1971 and 1980.
We look forward to many more years of outstanding work from our hardworking and dedicated team of craftsmen, delivering nothing but the highest standard of office furniture to our valued customers.
The site at Progress Road, Leigh-on-sea, essex - Image origin and time taken unknown
