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 2009 marks a milestone for Broadview, as the company celebrates its 40 year journey from a small blinds and timber supplier to a leading UK manufacturer and supplier of blinds, awnings, curtains and parasols.
Formed in 1969, the company started trading from the home of David Pratt and his wife Pat and specialised in buying in, selling and fitting Venetian blinds.
 By 1973, David recognised that premises were essential in order to expand the business: more space, a showroom for customers and an identity for the company. Premises in Broadstone, Poole, became available and David opened ‘Broadstone Timber Supplies’, selling timber and DIY products as well as blinds. As demand increased for window blinds so the timber and DIY products were discontinued which provided the added benefit of extra space where blinds could be manufactured.
The emphasis of the company changed from the supply and fit of blinds to include manufacturing and as a result David recruited his first employee and the company became Broadview Blinds. In 1974, David’s father, Jack Pratt, joined the business to open a showroom in Christchurch and to encourage soft furnishing shops outside of Dorset to introduce Broadview products.
By 1980 Broadview had 18 employees, two showrooms in Dorset (Christchurch and Poole), extended its product line with the introduction of canopy awnings, opened a dedicated production factory and had also begun to supply its blinds to soft furnishing outlets in Dorset, Hampshire and Wiltshire - achieving an annual turnover of £160,000.
 David’s sons, Mark and Ian, joined the company in 1986 and 1988 respectively and during this time Broadview won a major contract to become the official UK distributor for the Omnistor awning range, supplying the blinds trade around the country with awning systems.
This played a significant part in Broadview’s growth. The company also opened a further two Dorset showrooms in Ferndown and Westbourne during this period.
By 1990 Broadview’s turnover increased to £1.1 million and during this decade the company set about expanding once again – by moving to a larger factory to accommodate the demand for manufacturing a diverse product range and the machinery required to produce these, as well as employing 35 staff and supplying up to 300 trade accounts. Retiring in 2005, David Pratt appointed his sons, Mark and Ian, as managing directors to forefront the company. Together with operations director, Graham Curtis who joined in 1984, and sales director, Martin Rayner who joined in 2001, the management team recognised that product innovation and first-class customer service were paramount towards Broadview’s continued success.
To remain at the cutting edge, Broadview, already renowned for its shading solutions, began to push the boundaries in awning design and production to accommodate a range of requests from trade customers. Revolutionary designs have included the development of a unique awning system for a large fleet of RAC Auto Windscreen vehicles, a project for which Broadview became a runner-up in the 2007 Dorset Business Awards for Innovation, and also the manufacture of awnings for the sundecks of Sunseeker motor yachts.
The company has also been at the forefront of developing comprehensive solutions for the hospitality market to enable the industry to accommodate the smoking ban as well as the increasing café culture trend.
During the last few years, Broadview’s ability to innovate and evolve has seen it expand its product range, its showroom operations to Wiltshire and Essex as well as its trade account network to many corners of the UK, with 47 staff and an annual turnover of £4.8 million in 2007.
It is evident that with the introduction of new product innovations and support services Broadview has come a long way in the last few years, raising its profile within the industry.
 Looking to the future, Mark and Ian, together with their team, aim to take the business forward by introducing further bespoke product lines which meet individual requirements, expand the Broadview showroom network within Dorset, Hampshire and Wiltshire, and ultimately ensure that customer service levels are more than 100 per cent.
Looking ahead to product development and changes in the industry, Ian said: “More and more products are becoming automated, with remote control systems and sun and rain sensors incorporated into products, and with consumers becoming more ‘tech-savvy’ this trend is set to increase.
Also, with energy bills increasing there is a demand for products that help to provide substantial savings on energy costs. More people are beginning to ask about the insulation and sun-blocking properties of fabrics, and as a result I think we will start to see a higher number of energy-efficient fabrics, which include a Solar Protective Coating (SPC), available in the future.”
Ian added: “It is also important to remember that we are currently in a time of economic uncertainty globally. Therefore, it is imperative that the industry continues to offer quality service and products, responding to customer demands in order to minimise the impact of the ‘credit crunch’.”
Broadview’s affinity with market demands and technological change has driven the company’s growth. Mark said: “At every turn in Broadview’s history, so much has been achieved by simply engaging with customers and the industry – at the 40 year mark, this is the secret behind Broadview’s vitality.
Sadly, our father passed away in 2007 and Ian and I will continue to grow Broadview and be relevant in the marketplace as the company that delivers high quality service and products at an affordable price. 2009 marks the beginning of another 40 years of innovation and industry excellence."
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