OUR HISTORY
West Cumbria is a place of long standing traditions and the surname of Birkett can be traced back into the history of the area. Small wonder that Birkett Fencing of Rowrah is such a success story. Birkett's can best be described as traditional and family based with 33 year old, Juanita Watts as the current head of the company leading it forward keeping up with the ever demanding change of today’s modern times.
“We've been here for almost forty years, the Company has gone through many transitions and each one has proved a vital stepping stone for us as we have expanded to cover all major aspects of the fencing, garden and leisure industry.”
The modern site at Rowrah is a well thought out set up with ample parking for customers, good fencing stocks with a modern, well presented, outdoor display area for sheds and decking and a brightly lit, well stocked indoor retail showrooms including a welcoming coffee shop.
Established in 1970 by Juanita’s parents, Dally and Mavina, who began by working from home supplying and erecting fencing for local farmers and the local coal board sites.
It was not long before Dally who was a highly motivated driven individual spread his wings and started to network with leading utility companies and began carrying out fencing work throughout the whole of the UK supplying and installing fencing on Motorways, Airports and Pipeline fencing contracts. Whilst Dally was the driving force Mavina was the backbone and offered Dally continued support in all aspects of the business and kept tight control over their financial accounts whilst at the same time bringing up their 3 children and running the family home.
The business was growing and they soon found they had over 20 fence installers working all over the country, Dally traveled the length and breadth of the country ensuring all his projects were ran efficiently and profitably and to this day can still recommend a good eating spot all the way from Rowrah to John O Groats!
Thing’s developed quickly and they purchased a small yard to store all their fencing materials (next to the current site) and soon found that they had a steady stream of local farmers and fence installers wanting to buy their stocks. It was at this point that the business began to retail agricultural products to the local market.
Juanita joined the business in 1994 to help out with the day to day office work and very quickly went on to learn all aspects of running the company. Her sister Mandy joined a little later, taking over the accounts side of the business which led Mavina into another job a little more pleasurable, looking after her grandchildren, sons of their eldest daughter Lissa.
Word got around that there was a local reliable source of fencing products in the area and in four years Birkett’s had outgrown the site and bought the 1 ½ acre site next door to develop and move on to.
Within a few years of moving on to the new site they had expanded to not only being a large scale agricultural supplier, but also to being a stockist of fencing panels, decking, sheds and all types of timber.
All the time the retail business was still finding its feet and growing, the supply and erection business continued to boom and Birketts expended into installing security fencing throughout the UK to the industrial and utility sector and carrying out housing fencing contracts for local housing associates.
In 2004 Dally retired and the two girls took over running the company. Juanita had always been keen to develop the retail side of the business further as they had outgrown their small trade shop and so in 2005 the site was redeveloped and a new purpose built retail shop erected with plenty of space to stock garden accessories, fencing products, outdoor furniture and the day to day requirements for local landscapers, fencers and gardeneners aswell as stocking fantastic gifts and home furnishings to suit all tastes and budgets
Birkett’s have never been afraid of change and the direction of the business has moved several times. This has given them an insight into numerous aspects of the trade and the modern day re-incarnation of the company includes most of them. As well as the developing retail side they are still heavily into security fencing, agricultural fencing and still supply pipelines and then there are the many ‘add ons’ that they have included - the garden centre, Jacuzzis and decks, indoor furniture and even fireworks.
Birkett’s have seven teams of sub-contractors which Project Manager Adam Hirst runs. Adam joined in January 2007 when Mandy left the business, and under his guidance the company is fast developing its fencing interests in the commercial, housing, utility and industrial sectors and this side of the business continues to flourish and move forward offering the latest security fencing systems on the market.
Juanita is very driven, motivated and forward thinking and is philosophical about the future. I have a great team of staff who are committed to both the company and all of our customers. We are a local company and enjoy offering personal unrivalled service and endeavor to meet all of our customers needs, I have great plans for the Company and plan to move forward with the ever increasing changes of today’s society.
The business never stands still for long and with the launch of their online shopping experience Birketts continue to branch out and offer their expertise to the millions of people who enjoy shopping from the comforts of their own home.
“We hope you enjoy browsing and shopping on our new site and thank you for taking the time to visit us, we are always on hand to answer any of your queries and welcome advice on ways to improve our service and make your shopping experience more pleasurable”
Juanita Watts
“We've been here for almost forty years, the Company has gone through many transitions and each one has proved a vital stepping stone for us as we have expanded to cover all major aspects of the fencing, garden and leisure industry.”
The modern site at Rowrah is a well thought out set up with ample parking for customers, good fencing stocks with a modern, well presented, outdoor display area for sheds and decking and a brightly lit, well stocked indoor retail showrooms including a welcoming coffee shop.
Established in 1970 by Juanita’s parents, Dally and Mavina, who began by working from home supplying and erecting fencing for local farmers and the local coal board sites.
It was not long before Dally who was a highly motivated driven individual spread his wings and started to network with leading utility companies and began carrying out fencing work throughout the whole of the UK supplying and installing fencing on Motorways, Airports and Pipeline fencing contracts. Whilst Dally was the driving force Mavina was the backbone and offered Dally continued support in all aspects of the business and kept tight control over their financial accounts whilst at the same time bringing up their 3 children and running the family home.
The business was growing and they soon found they had over 20 fence installers working all over the country, Dally traveled the length and breadth of the country ensuring all his projects were ran efficiently and profitably and to this day can still recommend a good eating spot all the way from Rowrah to John O Groats!
Thing’s developed quickly and they purchased a small yard to store all their fencing materials (next to the current site) and soon found that they had a steady stream of local farmers and fence installers wanting to buy their stocks. It was at this point that the business began to retail agricultural products to the local market.
Juanita joined the business in 1994 to help out with the day to day office work and very quickly went on to learn all aspects of running the company. Her sister Mandy joined a little later, taking over the accounts side of the business which led Mavina into another job a little more pleasurable, looking after her grandchildren, sons of their eldest daughter Lissa.
Word got around that there was a local reliable source of fencing products in the area and in four years Birkett’s had outgrown the site and bought the 1 ½ acre site next door to develop and move on to.
Within a few years of moving on to the new site they had expanded to not only being a large scale agricultural supplier, but also to being a stockist of fencing panels, decking, sheds and all types of timber.
All the time the retail business was still finding its feet and growing, the supply and erection business continued to boom and Birketts expended into installing security fencing throughout the UK to the industrial and utility sector and carrying out housing fencing contracts for local housing associates.
In 2004 Dally retired and the two girls took over running the company. Juanita had always been keen to develop the retail side of the business further as they had outgrown their small trade shop and so in 2005 the site was redeveloped and a new purpose built retail shop erected with plenty of space to stock garden accessories, fencing products, outdoor furniture and the day to day requirements for local landscapers, fencers and gardeneners aswell as stocking fantastic gifts and home furnishings to suit all tastes and budgets
Birkett’s have never been afraid of change and the direction of the business has moved several times. This has given them an insight into numerous aspects of the trade and the modern day re-incarnation of the company includes most of them. As well as the developing retail side they are still heavily into security fencing, agricultural fencing and still supply pipelines and then there are the many ‘add ons’ that they have included - the garden centre, Jacuzzis and decks, indoor furniture and even fireworks.
Birkett’s have seven teams of sub-contractors which Project Manager Adam Hirst runs. Adam joined in January 2007 when Mandy left the business, and under his guidance the company is fast developing its fencing interests in the commercial, housing, utility and industrial sectors and this side of the business continues to flourish and move forward offering the latest security fencing systems on the market.
Juanita is very driven, motivated and forward thinking and is philosophical about the future. I have a great team of staff who are committed to both the company and all of our customers. We are a local company and enjoy offering personal unrivalled service and endeavor to meet all of our customers needs, I have great plans for the Company and plan to move forward with the ever increasing changes of today’s society.
The business never stands still for long and with the launch of their online shopping experience Birketts continue to branch out and offer their expertise to the millions of people who enjoy shopping from the comforts of their own home.
“We hope you enjoy browsing and shopping on our new site and thank you for taking the time to visit us, we are always on hand to answer any of your queries and welcome advice on ways to improve our service and make your shopping experience more pleasurable”
Juanita Watts