Sheffield furniture firm set expand with loan

Jenx was founded in 1982 by product designer Clive Jenkins and wife Catherine, a paediatric physiotherapist.

The company designs and manufactures products to help children with special postural needs that help with seating, standing, sleeping and therapy.

One of Jenx’s best known products is Monkey, an adjustable wooden standing system for children up to six.

Jenx has received a business loan of £180,000 from Finance Yorkshire, which will help to increase manufacturing capacity for cutting wood and plastic sheets and make products faster and with greater accuracy.

Clive Jenkins, managing director of Jenx, said: “This investment means we can replace our old machines and improve efficiency, and comes at a time when we have a number of exciting new products in the pipeline.”

Jenx has a turnover of £6m and employs 75 staff. It exports 15 per cent of products to countries including Australia, New Zealand and the US.

UK sales and distribution of Jenx products is carried out by a division of Jenx called Jiraffe, run by daughter Holly Jenkins, which has grown strongly since its launch two years ago.

“We have been growing over the last couple of years but there are always new product areas for us to look at.

“While Jiraffe is focused on the domestic market, Jenx is now pushing forward with a more global view and growing our international trade,” said Clive.