Carvers pull success out of fire four years after Leap Day blaze

Plumes of black smoke spiralled a hundred metres into the sky as the Carvers warehouse near Wolverhampton city centre went up in flames.

The blaze which broke out exactly four years ago today, on February 29 2012, brought the whole city to a standstill.

Scores of fire engines rushed to the scene of the historic firm while police forced back onlookers and deployed officers to evacuate residents, school pupils and students over fears that industrial gas canisters stored at the site could explode.

Trains stopped and roads were shut after the fire, which started in a wood-burning stove in the timber warehouse, destroyed vast quantities of stock, the company's offices and shop.

Firefighters spent a week dampening down flames. Fortunately, nobody was hurt.

At the time, many would have had their doubts over whether the near 120-year-old company could possibly continue, but owner Henry Carver insisted there was 'no question' of giving up.

And now, four years on, the firm has successfully risen from the ashes and is thriving.

Carvers was forced to start from scratch after the remains of the warehouse were demolished, which took six weeks, and the 200-strong workforce soon set up in a large, temporary warehouse on the site.

Plans were announced to create a 'builders' village' where different trades, such as tile and paint specialists could rent space and promote their services, and a 'drive through' to allow people to drive right up to the shelves and load their vehicles.

The fire destroyed thousands of pounds worth of stock, wrecked offices and left the livelihoods of more than 200 staff in jeopardy.

So it is fantastic to see that the firm - a true Wolverhampton institution - is well and truly back on its feet.

The journey has not been an easy one. To most outsiders the business looked doomed on that fateful day back in 2012.

Carvers' yard was filled with fire engines and debris, while owner Henry Carver stood and surveyed the wreckage of the business he and his family had built up over close to 120 years.

Many would have given up, cashed in their chips and moved on. But Mr Carver, who has long championed the city of Wolverhampton, refused to countenance such an option.

Within days he had made plans for the rebirth of Carvers, setting in motion a three year plan to bring the business back to life.

Mr Carver has since said that even in the darkest days he never once considered giving up, and true to his word Carvers is back, bigger and better than ever.

Today the firm is flourishing at its site in Little's Lane, which features a builders' village, a 'drive-thru' section, a showroom and a cafe.

It is particularly commendable that the vast majority of the workers who were at the firm when the fire struck are still there now.

In typical fashion Carvers, which has sponsored the city's marathon for years, showed loyalty to its staff, who in turned remained loyal to the firm. And as business blooms, more staff have been taken on.

It is testament to the hard work of Mr Carver and his staff that the firm is not just back in business, but is thriving, with trade expected to be up on last year.

The Carvers story is one of success against massive odds. It is a stark example that hard work and belief can reap rewards.

Mr Carver is rightly proud of what he and his team have achieved in bringing his company back from the dead.

He has put his money where his mouth is and believed in Wolverhampton when the easy option would have been to look elsewhere.

The £5.5 million redevelopment project started in February 2013, and during the re-build many of the staff employed at the time were farmed out to the firm's other premises, a timber merchants in Neachells Lane, Wednesfield.

After 21 months of hard work, Carvers held a grand re-opening at the Little's Lane site on Saturday November 8 2014.

Mr Carver spoke with huge pride about the current state of the company but says he has not forgotten that fateful day.

"Everyone is going well, but whenever I think of it, and the day, I still have an eerie feeling," he said.

"But the great thing is that we have recovered, we have kept all the jobs and we have employed more people now. We are an expanding business.

"Trade, I think, this year will be better than last. And last year was up on the previous year. It is hard-fought, the business, but we are on the up, not on the down."

The warehouse and showroom is a one-stop shop for builders and DIY-ers and has proved hugely popular. Several franchises are operating inside the main building including Dixon Paints, Tile Choice and Rayton Electrical.

There is a cafe with a seating area just as you walk through the main entrance, a bathroom showroom area, and a specialist cookers centre housing experts in all things kitchen-related.

When asked if things are now back to normal, Mr Carver said: "Things are better than normal because I think we have got a better set-up.

"We have got franchises, we have got a better product range, we have got a better parking facility and we have got a better customer service facility.

"We kept everybody on, apart from a couple of cleaners – part-time cleaners. We just couldn't justify that, but everybody else was kept on.

"Obviously with a company our size, some people will leave – but not many – and if you expand, you employ more people and we have increased our levels of employment.

"We have got all of the franchises now set up, and we hope that they will next year start to expand yet further.

"If the market continues to be buoyant, we will be employing more people."

After the fire, Mr Carver praised his 'great team' of staff for its support, and said he knew he could rely on them.

He has once again spoke of the dedication and loyalty of his workforce, who were determined to not let the fire put a halt to the company.

"I think once people get into our way of life/work, we do tend to employ a lot of people for many years," said Carver.

"It is funny really because often they have had different marriages, this and that, but the one thing that has stayed is the company."

The biggest change since the re-opening is the drive through service, which came about after customers said it was difficult to get served quickly and efficiently with heavy materials.

Now, customers can drive into the large building to the right of the main store, pull up to the material they need, and Carvers staff will load their vehicle before the customers pays for their goods and drive straight out.

"Anything you can't put under your arms, to carry around you have got put in a big trolley, like cement, plasterboard," said Carver.

"It is so much quicker to drive your car right up to it and put it in, in a couple of minutes. Builders need quick service, and this has been an absolute revolution.

"Everything is on the computer, bar-coding, so when they get up to the top to book it out, they have already got the invoice instantly.

"I think we are the first in the country to have, what I call, a proper drive-through warehouse.

"The response has been very, very positive, as they get served a lot quicker than they used to."

He concluded: "I think the picture, ironically, is rosier now than it was four years ago – before the fire."