Andy Heath - Asgard Sales & Marketing Director
Andy Heath has been the Asgard and Flexiform Sales & Marketing Manager & eventually) Director for many, many years. We caught up with Andy to find out what’s happening in the world of sheds.
How are things?
Very busy right now; our customers love the products and the level of service we offer; they shower us with praise and recommend us to their friends all the time. The result is that everyone seems to want an Asgard shed at the moment. Which is great, but demand at this level creates its own challenges... just how do we make and deliver quickly, yet maintain our top quality levels!
What is the most important part of Asgard's Success?
The brand strength is most definitely the reason for Asgard's success. We’re known for high-quality, secure products, designed and built here in Yorkshire. It’s taken several years to build up that reputation, and it’s not been easy to maintain this high level of quality, but credit has to go to our manufacturing team. They are on the ball with quality control. Not much slips past their eyes. So, as I said, the customers just recommend us to everyone they know, and it makes my life so much easier. A recommendation from a customer is priceless.
Do all of your sheds come out of West Yorkshire?
Yes, every Asgard has been designed here in Bradford by our Design Engineers. The guys have around 300 years of combined experience in Metalwork design and manufacturing between them (I'm not joking!), so there’s nothing they don’t know about making metal sheds. It’s amazing what they can do!
Every single shed is made to order by us. Doing it this way is a conscious decision; it really is the only way to keep a close eye on quality and maintain our high standards. As I said, our reputation is built on quality and secure steel storage. We don't believe in buying in from overseas; that's not going to help the British Economy or create manufacturing jobs.
Are your sheds pretty good then?
Yes, I think the best metal storage sheds are on the market. I am confident enough to make that statement because our customers regularly tell us so, in their reviews, emails, and phone calls. We’ve had a few well-known cyclists using our sheds recently. If they are good enough for the best athletes in the country, you know there’s something special in the quality of the unit. All our sheds have our shed ventilation system built in; all our sheds have built-in floors, free delivery, and all designed and made by us..... Yes!! I am always asked, I have a couple of sheds myself! I actually test every product we design at home myself; there is not a single Asgard product that I have not tested myself.
Famous cyclists?
Yes, we have had a few professional athletes using Asgard sheds. These include Elinor Barker, Helen Scott, and Laura & Jason Trott (Kenny). They are all top-flight Olympic Medallists, and now they can add to their collection of precious metals with a gold-standard Asgard metal shed.
How was it with the pros?
Great, as a cyclist myself, it was great chatting with the best the country has ever produced. Hearing about their training schedules and dedication was a wake-up call. My fitness has suffered somewhat in recent years, and talking to these athletes has inspired me to push on and regain a good standard of fitness again. Asgard Shed Owners
We actually redesigned our large bike shed for Elinor Barker, so she could hang her spare bike frames, and as well as this, we installed stands for her everyday bikes. This has now become a standard product for us.
Most of the Asgard product line has evolved over the years from customer comments and advice. Customers who use our products every day are our best critics. We have a few other famous customers waiting in the wings for the end of the year.
What’s on the cards for Asgard now?
A new paint plant is big news for us, as we can increase production and maintain the quality that will really change the way we manufacture our products. We’re also overhauling our entire logistics side of the business and really making progress.
We keep getting famous people on board, which is great. We have met a Jedi, a real spaceman, comedians, and Journalists....
More famous people?
Loads! Though we are not allowed to say who ... a guy that owns an airline.... a guy that manages a very, VERY big football club, a former international goalkeeper.....a guy that designs F1 cars.. the list goes on... but it's a secret. We have a few Hollywood stars as well; I guess the biggest was Ewan McGregor, and we have Rhod Gilbert, who has bought a few sheds over the years.
What about the competition?
A tricky one to answer; we eclipsed the competition some time ago with regards ot product offering, and the size of Asgard as a company. Now, the issue is everybody copies our ideas, which is flattering... but annoying at times!! There are plenty of Asgard copies out there, made in China and brought over, and sold as made in the UK... they are not! Some are pretty cheap and nasty, but there is plenty of space out there for all of us to sell. The customer will make up their own minds in the end. Professionals always put us on top, so that will do for me.
New Asgard products?
A few new Asgard products have hit the market this year. Our new bike hanger is designed to fit within a standard UK parking space and is able to store 9 bikes in residential areas. Our hangers are designed for commuters to store bikes at home, cycle to their destination, and lock up their bike again in another bike hanger at the destination.
We’ve also launched the Garage Guardian, an over-bonnet storage box. A storage unit that sits above your car in a garage, making use of the dead space for items that would normally be in the garden shed. There are a few other interesting products in the pipeline also….. It’s looking like a busy second half of the year.
Our Garrison range... well.. what can I say, our biggest shed to date... It's Huge and perfect for so many uses.
"Our Export division has taken off, with our first large overseas order leaving the factory recently... the future is bright.. the future is green.. or ivory or grey"
Anything outside of Asgard? We hear you like to play the guitar?
There is more to life than sheds ... so ...Yes, well sort of, I have a friend who I met through guitar tuition who is a musician on a scale I can only dream of, a chap called Sid Szdelko. Sadly, the friendship and love of the pub eclipsed the guitar lessons quite quickly. So I now just play and learn in my spare time, for my own amusement. I actually collect more than I play these days; I have an unhealthy obsession with Brian May and own… rather too many of his guitars, from the super cheap up to the super awesome Andy Guyton replica. To be fair, it was the Brian May thing that led me into Design. A guy (as a teenager) who can design and build a guitar with his dad, make it by hand on the kitchen table..... and basically, invent frictionless tremolos and endless sustain, and incredible note phasing… was a 100% inspiration. You could say Brian May was the catalyst to my interest in design…
Before you ask ... Yes, I made my own guitar as a teenager…
And no, it was no good at all!! - it's very difficult!
And no, Brian May has never bought an Asgard shed... :O( That would have been all my childhood dreams come true at once.... Sheds, Guitars and Brian May ...
Why do you turn up every day?
I love my job! My background is actually Product Design BSc (Hons) - So I used to design stuff for real... I left University and worked in the Furniture industry for a company called Teknion - Wow, suddenly I was presenting my interior designs and products to the Board of MARS...Cadence, Candle Systems... and met Terry Wogan! I thought, yes, I like this. So I moved up North and started working for Flexiform, though I also worked Designing Bars in Manchester (Canal Street). I just loved getting out and talking to people. I took an interest in Asgard, which was really not performing at all, thought it would make a good bike shed (I was a club rider), and it did. Then I started talking to Team GB and the brand just grew from there. I had a design background, and I was naturally good at presenting; throw in some amazing design engineers at Asgard and well… the rest is really history. Asgard grows every single year, and we keep pushing out new products.
The Future?
AI - it's all about technology, making our products quicker, and designing new products quicker!! We have so much experience here, but time is always against us, and we are not getting any younger. We will soon be handing over to the next generation, where tech and AI are all they know. So we old dinosaurs must share the knowledge and let the next generation use technology to make us even better.
Original Article Written By Brook Chalmers - 2012
Updated - 2025
