For any business to make it through 50 years is a significant achievement. But for a company to do this amid the backdrop of recession, austerity and general financial doom and gloom makes it even more impressive.
The Omar Group, which we feature in a special Golden Anniversary supplement this month, has not only survived, it has thrived. Only two years ago, the market-leading park home manufacturer snapped up rival firm Wessex and saved it from extinction. There aren’t many who can lay claim to such successes.
But it hasn’t all been plain sailing for the Omar team. The company went into administration in 2009 but, happily, managed to haul itself back from the brink. The Suffolk-based company is now stronger than ever.
Paul Plezko, whose father – a Polish immigrant – founded the firm back in 1965, has lived through massive changes in the mobile home industry over the decades. In fact, he has lived his whole life in this unique, ‘cottage’ industry. Again, a really impressive feat. You can re-live this pioneering company’s journey from page 44.
What else is there to look forward to in your May issue? Answer: more parks and new home reviews than you can shake a stick at and much, much more!
We visit Pembrokeshire, in south-west Wales, and run the rule over a brace of brilliant residential park home estates. We also travel to the Fens, in Cambridgeshire, and meet the residents at a lovely Tingdene-owned park.
As well as Omar, we also review the all-new Wessex Gite and the Prestige Residence. Two very different homes with two things in common: innovation and originality in design. We hope you’ll be as impressed as we are!
On the legal front, we ask the Leasehold Advisory Service (LEASE) to explain how the new site licensing laws – introduced under the 2013 Mobile Homes Act – will affect you. The 2013 Act is the second serious legislative change that Paul Plezko and the Omar team has worked through (the original Act dating back to 1983). I’m pretty sure they will be around for the next lot – whenever that may be.
Alex Melvin, Editor
Email: phhc.ed@kelsey.co.uk