A century after former northern farmer Arthur Passmore came south to set up a corn and grain business, with a sideline in chicken shed production, the family firm is hoping for a royal accolade.

The Strood-based business has made garages for members of the royal family and bosses are planning to apply for a royal warrant.
Managing director Stuart Slaughter, whose mother - nee Passmore - married Richard Slaughter, said the company had been asked to build and erect garages "big enough for a Range Rover".

Royal work had been won by word of mouth following good business with Leeds Castle and other large estates. "We are a good company to deal with, we deliver on time, our products are good and reasonably priced and we're a reasonable bunch of people," he said.

A royal warrant would be a fitting reward for a Kent manufacturer still in business after a century. Such long life, rare in the county's manufacturing sector, has to be down to doing a lot of things right. For a start, it is not profligate. While many winners of the Medway Business Awards have blown the £2,000 prize money on a lavish knees-up, Passmores invested most of the cash into a glossy marketing brochure that depicts its portable buildings in a lifestyle context. The remaining 10 per cent was given to Save The Children.

"We want to reward staff but there are better ways than a party to do it," said Slaughter, a fourth-generation Passmore to be involved in the company. "We've gone from very technical, informative brochures - rather bland literature - to this lovely 16-page colour publication."

He puts longevity down to hard work by all staff and old-fashioned values.

Combining manufacturing with sales and distribution has enabled the firm to control quality. It might be cheaper to outsource portable buildings but, when Passmore tried it once, quality suffered.

"We like being a manufacturer," said Slaughter. "We would never think of exporting the manufacturing to a cheap country. It may not be the most profitable way, but it's how we want to do it."

The company has two factories in Medway and plans to open a third to focus on manufacturing for European markets. Passmores already has steady sales to New Zealand and sends regular container loads of sheds.

Europe is a key target market, with the strength of the euro against sterling stimulating sales, especially the larger simple-to-erect garage-style building.

"A British product is usually well received. It's a very good business for us. We do it now, but not enough," Slaughter said.

While fast-growing China has taken a lot of the world's timber production, Passmore has a long-standing relationship with a Swedish mill for redwood pine from sustainable forests. It was one of the first manufacturers to achieve the FSC certification.
"If you can rely on your supplier to deliver good quality premium grade materials, it gives you the confidence to market yourself in the way we do."

Passmore has operated under railway arches all its life. They are leased from Network Rail. Trains, including the new Javelin high-speed stock, trundle ponderously on one of the tightest bends on the network above the offices.

Passmore has probably made more than 100,000 buildings since its foundation. It has been estimated one in three Medway garden and allotment sheds are a Passmore product. Some time ago, the firm launched a search for the county's oldest shed. A Passmore shed dating back to 1939 was found in Gillingham.

The latest economic downturn has slowed sales and forced Passmores to cut working hours and unveil promotional prices. The big freeze did not help either - many deliveries are up country lanes to remote homes - but things are beginning to get back to normal, said Slaughter.

Passmore has come through five or six recessions so the latest is nothing new. "It's going to take a lot to get rid of us," he declared.