# Broxap takes lead with doghouse deal



## testmg80 (Jul 28, 2008)

Monday, January 05, 2009, 09:20

DIRECTORS at Broxap are well and truly in the doghouse  after buying a kennel-building company.
The Chesterton manufacturer has bought Canine Kennels, based at Hough, near Crewe, for almost £500,000.
Canine Kennels supplies customers such as the Ministry of Defence, the police, the prison service and the RSPCA as well as members of the public.
Products include complete modular kennel systems and, reputedly, the country's toughest dog leads.
Broxap has already sold its Cosy Kennels, which it claims are the most durable in the UK, to Ministry of Defence bases across the country.
Now Broxap plans to plough investment into its acquisition by creating a new outdoor showroom and shop at Canine Kennels' Birch Lane base.
Pet owners, breeders, boarding kennel owners and institutional customers will be able to see examples of kennel systems in working order and buy accessories such as beds, leads and feeding bowls.
A Broxap spokesman said: "This one-stop shop for kennel systems means Broxap, with Canine Kennels, is now the biggest professional manufacturer of kennel systems in the UK.
"There is now no reason why anyone from the Ministry of Defence through the RSPCA right down to breeders and boarders cannot find a kennel system to fit their requirements or budget.
"We have the Cosy Kennel system that is the top-of-the-range 'super-kennel', right through to Canine's Professional kennel system or the timber and steel Wymbury range."
Sales, including easy-to-assemble flat-pack dog housing, will continue to be made through Canine Kennels' website.
Although Broxap will now take control of the firm, Canine founders Paul and Gladys Bradley will stay on to run the 10-strong company from the Hough headquarters.
Canine Kennels was founded in 1995 and evolved from Canine Leathers  manufacturers of ultra-tough leads built to withstand the jaws of German shepherds owned by armies and police forces across Europe.
Director Paul Bradley said: "I have been in the dog business for 35 years  it's what I know and love.
"The deal with Broxap is a natural progression. They have been in the kennel business for three years and they have built up a very good name.
"They will bring their other expertise to us and their resources will mean we can develop products further and faster."
The Canine deal is Broxap's third acquisition in recent months.
In November, it bought Wigan-based BollardTech through a receiver.
The deal will see BollardTech's sales and manufacturing operations switched to North Staffordshire and Broxap's Southport plant.
And in May it took over over Hampshire playground equipment maker Hand Made Places in a deal worth £1.5 million.
Broxap's core business is the manufacture of street furniture and smoking shelters and it has an annual turnover of about £40 million.
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