BAFTA Award Winning Studio FACTORY Appoints Andy Wood as Chairman
Skwigly
Factory, the multi-award-winning animation studio and rights owner, is poised for significant growth, and today announces the appointment of creative industries champion Andy Wood as the studio’s first Chairman.
Former Cubic Motion President, Andy Wood, joins Factory at a pivotal point in the company’s already illustrious development, bringing a wealth of experience leading creative businesses to huge international success.
In 2020, Factory celebrates its 10th anniversary year and in that time has produced an incredible 85 hours of animated content across 19 shows, and has grown its team to over 120 employees. From concept through to final delivery, Factory has expertise across all animation disciplines including CGI, 2D animation, digital animation and stop motion.
Productions include BAFTA-winning pre-school show ‘Clangers’ (CBeebies), spooky stop-motion animation ‘Scream Street’ (CBBC), ‘Newzoids’ (ITV), ‘Norman Picklestripes’ (NBC Universal), Club Penguin (Disney) and the recent 2D animated adaption of Sir Michael Morpurgo’s ‘Mimi and the Mountain Dragon’ for the BBC. Co-produced by Leopard Pictures with a score from Oscar-winning composer Rachel Portman, ‘Mimi and The Mountain Dragon’ premiered to millions of viewers across the UK over Christmas on BBC One and the BBC iPlayer.
Factory launched Factory Rights following the company’s acquisition of the long-established Rollo Rights catalogue created by David McKee including ‘Mr Benn’, ‘Elmer The Patchwork Elephant’, ‘King Rollo’ and the much-loved Rupert Fawcett cartoons, ‘On The Prowl’ and ‘Off The Leash’, an animated series has accumulated multimillions of views across Facebook and YouTube.
With a brand new animated television series of the iconic children’s brand ‘Elmer the Patchwork Elephant’ in development, Factory is set for another exciting year and will announce creative plans for David McKee’s other classic brand, ‘Mr Benn’ in the coming months.
Phil Chalk, CEO Factory said, “2020 promises incredible growth for Factory. With his vast experience is scaling businesses in the creative industries Andy completes the key management team, we feel perfectly placed to deliver our ambitious expansion plans.”
Andy Wood said, “I’ve known Phil from long before he founded Factory 10 years ago. He is one of the most creative and savvy people I know. This is reflected in the fabulous team Phil has around him. Factory has numerous first-class productions, an innovative future pipeline and a rich catalogue of outstanding intellectual properties. I’m honoured to be asked to participate as Factory embark on the next stage of their exponential growth.”