Members only – Insight Event – JJ Smith Woodworking – Liverpool

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Members only – Insight Event – JJ Smith Woodworking – Liverpool

The transformation of JJ Smith, a century old family business, is an object lesson in how to modernise.

Sending their Sales Director out on the road for three months, not to sell, but to find out what their customers wanted was a valuable exercise.  They said “we need to get into automation, but we don’t have the time, capacity or resources.  We need you to do this for us”.

And so they did.  Rachael Baker, fourth generation MD shared how they built a robotics division from scratch in little over two years.  

While they’d originally expected to be selling basic pick and place automations, more advanced solutions have become their core business. Their ‘Robotics Zoo’ testing facility allows customers to come and see machines in action, and the gantry work at their Kirkby facility enables the team to play Tetris with the massive woodworking machines that arrive on site to be bespoked.   

Having originally completed a PhD and worked as a scientific researcher, Rachael’s journey into the family business may seem unusual, but she suggests it’s not uncommon in a multi-generational business.   “My grandfather didn’t get given a choice.  My father’s generation had a few more options, and by the time we reached my generation we were told to ‘try other things to be absolutely sure’ before joining.”   For Rachael, this meant a stint as a part-time non-exec, before becoming full-time commercial director and finally Managing Director in 2022.

Key takeaways from the visit

  • “Know when to get on the roundabout, and when to get off”– Rachael’s a great believer in seizing the right business opportunities but not sticking with them past their usefulness.
  • Helping even the smallest of customers make good decisions leads to long term relationship success.  Machines may have a 25-year lifespan, but customers will come back whenever they need something.
  • Be place-based, but globally ambitious. JJ Smith benefit from being well established employers in their local area, but have recently sold more machines to Inner Mongolia than they have to the Liverpool City Region.   Their King’s Award generated both employee pride, and global market credibility.
  • Providing external exposure is massively valuable for long-standing employees.  JJ Smith team members are encouraged to spend time with other businesses to pick up insight.
  • Long term economic uncertainty means there’s lots of smaller companies who could really benefit from automation, but they’re not investing – just waiting.   Rachael’s a big believer in ‘just crack on and do it’.