Approaching its 50th anniversary, Peter Cook is investing in machinery, sustainable adhesive technologies, demonstration facilities and exclusive product partnerships as it expands its role within the upholstery manufacturing sector. John Legg visited Peter Cook’s Long Eaton branch and spoke with branch manager Roy Bostock about the opportunities and challenges shaping the company’s future.
As Peter Cook approaches its 50th year in business, the company is showing that even long-established suppliers must continue to evolve.
Widely known across the upholstery sector as a trusted source of components, consumables and fittings, Peter Cook is increasingly positioning itself as a provider of production solutions and technical expertise.
That ambition is particularly evident at its Long Eaton branch, where a newly developed showroom, demonstration facilities and upgraded trade counter are giving customers greater access to machinery, mechanisms and technologies.
For branch manager Roy Bostock, the investment reflects a market in which manufacturers are facing rising costs, tighter margins and growing pressure to improve efficiency. Suppliers, he believes, increasingly need to provide more than products alone.
“People shop around,” says Roy. “You’ve got to offer customers a wider range of products and diversify what you’re doing.”
A showroom for the modern manufacturer
The most visible sign of Peter Cook’s evolution is its new showroom, designed to give customers the opportunity to see products, mechanisms and manufacturing technologies in a practical environment.
Alongside the showroom, the refreshed trade counter demonstrates the breadth of Peter Cook’s established offer, with thousands of products supporting upholstery manufacture. These range from furniture feet and castors to fabrics and fillings, buttoning and finishing products, sewing-room supplies, workshop sundries and specialist tools.
For manufacturers and upholsterers, the facility serves both as a trade counter and specification centre, enabling customers to compare and evaluate products before purchase while discussing potential production solutions with Peter Cook’s team.
UK distributor for Sedac-Meral
A major recent development is Peter Cook’s UK partnership with Belgian mechanism specialist Sedac-Meral, a leading European manufacturer of sofa-bed and convertible furniture systems. The partnership gives British furniture manufacturers access to a range of mechanisms developed for multifunctional furniture, with systems now displayed prominently within the Long Eaton showroom.
Customers can examine the mechanisms first-hand rather than relying solely on catalogues and technical drawings, opening broader conversations around product development, engineering and opportunities to add value through design.
For Peter Cook, the relationship represents more than the addition of another product range. The company sees potential for the partnership to develop into further product categories as awareness grows among UK manufacturers.
Sustainability meets productivity
Peter Cook is also focusing on technologies that can help manufacturers improve sustainability without compromising production efficiency.
A key part of this is the introduction of Everad water-based adhesive solutions, giving upholstery manufacturers an alternative to conventional solvent-based systems. The technology is designed to support more sustainable production while still meeting the practical performance demands of a busy manufacturing environment.
Although solvent-based adhesives remain widely used throughout upholstery production, Roy believes attitudes are changing. “There are customers looking for greener alternatives and consumers increasingly expect manufacturers to consider environmental impact.”
For Peter Cook, the opportunity is about helping customers explore practical changes that can make a difference to their manufacturing processes. Water-based adhesive technology can help reduce reliance on solvent-based products and lower associated VOC emissions, while supporting a cleaner working environment.
Beyond consumables
The Long Eaton facility also showcases machinery and specialist production equipment intended to improve productivity, consistency and efficiency on the factory floor.
Alongside adhesive application equipment are upholstery presses and modular manufacturing technologies designed to support more efficient assembly processes.
The move reflects wider pressures within furniture manufacturing, where businesses are looking increasingly towards labour-saving technologies capable of delivering consistent quality while responding to skills shortages and rising production costs.
For Peter Cook, supplying equipment is a logical extension of its traditional role. Rather than focusing only on the materials used in production, the company is becoming more involved in helping customers consider how those products are manufactured.
Service remains at the heart
Despite the increasing emphasis on technology, Roy is clear that customer service remains central to Peter Cook’s offer. “We sell a service as much as we do a product,” he says. “A lot of our customers buy from us because they trust the products we supply.”
That approach extends from stockholding and logistics to technical support. Peter Cook operates its own delivery fleet, supplemented by courier partners, enabling it to serve customers throughout the UK and internationally.
Its staple-gun repair service is another example of the practical support offered to customers, helping manufacturers minimise downtime and extend the life of heavily used equipment.
Peter Cook is also exploring opportunities to enhance its local delivery service, including the possibility of same-day deliveries for customers across its Midlands heartland.
Looking ahead
While market conditions remain challenging, Peter Cook’s direction is clear: increase awareness of its expanding portfolio, deepen customer engagement and continue investing in technologies that help manufacturers operate more effectively.
The company may still be best known for the thousands of upholstery components, fittings and consumables leaving its warehouses, but its growing emphasis on demonstration facilities, machinery, sustainable technologies and specialist partnerships points towards a broader role.
For Roy, the principle is simple. “Old knowledge is great, but equally you need innovative and fresh ideas as well. You have to evolve and adapt.”
As Peter Cook prepares to enter its sixth decade, that combination of upholstery expertise, technical innovation and customer-focused service looks set to shape the next chapter of the business.
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