2023 has been our busiest year on record! We think it's mostly down to the movement away from fossil fuels, push to reduce running costs with the energy crisis, and a lot of home renovations.

Here's a snapshot of my big year-end reporting spreadsheet, for those who love stats:

• Our total order volume has doubled since last year.
• We have reduced our projected labour costs by 50%.
• The amount of cast iron we enamel has increased by 210% vs last year.

I'd love to go more in-depth with different orders etc, but our reporting from last year isn't detailed enough! Fingers crossed next year we can get a great side-by-side comparison now that our reporting system is all setup and ticking away.

This whole year we've invested a LOT into the business.

• Online Spaces. My background in IT and Web Design helps with this, but I really love learning more about recent updates, how to navigate building online platforms etc. It's a whole different world to wrap your head around but very interesting.

• Business Advisors, Financial Advisors etc. At the start of the business, I was spinning MANY plates, trying to change from a solo engineer to a fully-fledged, structured business. Once Scott joined last year, it was a blessing to split the workload. We have had some invaluable advice from our independent Business Advisor and our expert Financial Advisor too. We structured the business for longevity, quality and sustainability - perfect for passing down the generations.

• Warehouse and Machinery. A lot of our investment has been into our workshop equipment and cutting down time, as well as increasing productivity. We've also had a new van and a new 4x4, which is brilliant in the Scottish winter months! We've also outgrown our new warehouse so we have an additional storage unit to house all of our cast iron before shotblasting - a relief to be able to move around the workshop again!

• Labour Costs. We're reduced our reliance on subcontractors compared to last year. Diary updates, lots of training and our new members of staff, makes it all possible. We can manage the time and quality of our products/services much better with in-house engineers (and the odd vetted-subcontactor here and there!)

• Personal Growth. I fear that I'm actually obsessed with developing as a business owner! Between the mountain of books I've read this year, seminars attended, and countless meetings, we are constantly learning and growing as owners and engineers. Our approach has changed this year, from our scaling and growth stage, to a continued sustainability approach.

To reduce the business costs this year, we have:

• Increased in-house engineer jobs.
• Benefiting from reduced fuel pricing for our vans.
• Invested in staff and training to manage workflow.
• Structured our diaries to increase the number of jobs without engineer burn-out.
• Bulk-ordering parts and investing in fabrication to reduce shipping costs.

Even with these reductions, the prices of parts, staff, plating, enamelling, utilities etc have all increased. We always try to put off price rises as much as possible but theres only so much preaching our Financial Advisor can do before she loses her voice! So we have a planned price rise from January. Ordering now will save you a few hundred pounds as well as the free installation on controllable models promotion this month.

As you can see, Saltire Cookers is a well-oiled machine, here for the long haul. We're an established team, fully-fledged business and we're frequently praised for the top-level customer service, attention to detail and quality of our cookers, so you know you're in good hands.

The Aga cooker world is busier than ever - with hundreds converting to controllable electric to reduce their running costs, many refurbishing the aga cooker family heirloom, and even more finally getting the Aga Cooker of their dreams.