Christopher J. Brown and Jane Taylor

CHAPTER OVERVIEW

This case is designed to help veterinary students explore innovation and sustainability within the broader veterinary and related sectors. The business upon which this particular case focuses is situated within a traditionally conservative construction subsector: animal housing. The study highlights an entrepreneurial small business that has achieved a great deal since its inception. It also amplifies the challenges the business has faced (and continues to face) in its bid to expand both within and beyond the UK market. In 2011, Parasol’s approximate annual turnover for the entire group was £2.5 million. Its main offices and manufacturing facility are in Crediton, mid Devon, but an office also exists in Wolverhampton. Currently seven staff members (five full-time and two part-time) are employed. It is Parasol’s intention to increase the number of employees to ten by the end of 2013. The organization comprises three company directors who are responsible for management, finance and operations; a RIBA chartered architect; a design and technical manager; and a marketing consultant.

LEARNING OUTCOMES

After reading this case study, students will be able to:

Introduction

Colin and Diana Taylor formed Parasol Kennels in 1992. The company was named after the innovative design and development of a circular kennel for Wood Green Animal Shelters, a leading animal charity specializing in dog and cat welfare. The ‘Parasol Kennel’ was registered as a unique design that same year. This innovative animal housing system was created in response to the Universities Federation for Animal Welfare’s (UFAW) collaborative research project needs, primarily reducing stress in animals, particularly those housed for long periods. It was the social concern of the animal that was of utmost importance, but Parasol’s solution had many other advantages, both in differentiating itself in the marketplace and in delivering other animal welfare benefits.

In its first year, two other modular ‘Parasol Kennels’ were built at the Lothian Animal Welfare Centre for the Scottish Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SSPCA) in Balerno, near Edinburgh. This was the first example in this market of using a pre-assembled modular building system with pre-finished materials/surfaces, making transport and site erection very quick and easy. Other benefits included enhanced kennel hygiene; appreciably reduced construction, maintenance and cleaning costs; abridged noise emission; and significant energy conservation.

Other animal charities including the RSPCA and Dog’s Trust, followed by Revenue and Customs, who appointed Parasol to develop a rolling programme of nine kennel projects around the UK, placed orders for Parasol’s modular animal housing system. In 2003, the UK Ministry of Defence (MOD) placed the first of many orders for the Parasol modular animal housing system. Twelve kennel schemes have since been completed, and in 2010 Parasol designed and manufactured individual kennel ‘pods’ for the Société pour Protection des Animaux in Paris (Figure 16.1). Today, Parasol Kennels is the preferred supplier for the UK Border Agency (UKBA) and of the MOD dog housing needs. Key to this success is that Parasol’s kennels exceed animal welfare regulations and comply with the MOD ‘JSP315 Scale 14 requirements for Service Animals’.

The UK animal housing market

The animal housing market within the UK is very fragmented. Few animal housing construction companies offer products that meet current legislation. This is particularly the case within the private and commercial kennel sectors, which consist of boarding kennels, training establishments and dog breeders. Businesses compete in this particular marketplace by providing low-cost kennel solutions, often resulting in a lower-quality product. Many are constructed using low-grade steel for frames and wooden walls, which are no longer accepted by government, military, animal charities and animal welfare. Such materials are deemed short-lived and unhygienic.

Not-for-profit organizations rely entirely upon funding and charitable donations, so budgets for animal housing and ancillary buildings are tightly controlled. With the additional pressures of economic restrictions, design solutions are expected not only to satisfy the well-being of the animals, but also need to be highly efficient, cost effective and sustainable. The same applies to commercial projects for government departments such as the MOD and the UKBA; these organizations now demand compliance with BREEAM and DREAM standards, which require ‘Excellent’ ratings for sustainability, energy saving and adaptability. Investment in alternative and renewable energy resources is something currently being encouraged by both the government and a number of businesses throughout the UK, the great advantage being shorter-term returns on investment (ROI), often less than 5 years.

Those involved in animal housing within the public sector (PS) are exceptionally knowledgeable about the operational side of managing a kennel complex and the importance of animal welfare. It is their duty to maximize a professional working or service dog’s potential in terms of performance, and keep veterinary expenses to a minimum. A fully trained detection dog, for example, is valued at around £25 k (Griffiths, 2012). Like humans, dogs will thrive and perform their tasks better and for longer if they are happily and suitably housed. So, in addition to their individual exercise and sleep compartments, access needs to be provided between all the exercise areas to allow the dogs to socialize.

Parasol Kennels considers itself as one of the innovative leaders of animal housing solutions in this fragmented marketplace, as co-founder and managing director Colin Taylor explains:

The majority of the buyers of animal housing solutions today not only want the buildings to address animal welfare, but also expect them to address the issues and challenges of sustainability, energy saving and adaptability.

Parasol’s business model and involvement in the UK animal housing market

Parasol Kennels invests substantially in design, research and development. The reason for doing so is to ensure that its animal housing systems are of premium quality, performing to the best of their ability, and are sold at the most competitive price. In fact this is the basis for its business model. As innovation is at the heart of everything it does, Parasol reacts quickly to changing market conditions and requirements, while being proactive in inventing new solutions to help solve difficult customer challenges. Learning is at the core of Parasol’s culture (Figure 16.2); continual assessment of customer needs initiates product innovation and enhancement, delivering business and customer value. For example, when one of Parasol’s military buildings was independently measured by DREAM – the world’s leading design and assessment method for sustainable buildings – it achieved the performance rating of ‘Excellent’.

One member of the Parasol team – RIBA chartered architect John Flavell – has witnessed considerable change within the animal housing market, and has been hugely influential in the design of kennel projects in the private and public sectors. John has worked with regional and national animal charities, boarding establishments, the MOD and UKBA. He believes that all kennels should now be sustainable and manufactured to the highest level of quality, which would mean everyone concerned adhering to a completely new set of guidelines:

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