Kebrell's significant UK stock holding is further backed up by a manufacturing plant close by in Spain, from which it can produce bespoke parts from prototype to production. Following growth in a range of sectors, Torque speaks with Commercial Manager Ray Goddard.
How's business?
Throughout the Kebrell group, we've seen a steady growth in sales for the first half of the year, particularly in the utilities, automotive and electrical industries. Like everyone else in the industry, we have been feeling the pressure on rising costs from the Fat East and Europe, which has made it very difficult to stabilise prices.
In light of these increases, we have been working with our customers and manufacturing partners to ensure that we can continue to offer an excellent level of service whilst maintaining competitive prices.
How big is your UK warehouse space? How many locations do you cover and are you looking to expand?
Our CDC in Wednesbury, West Midlands, is 200,000 square ft, with a current stock holding of approximately 20,000 tons of fasteners and fixings. We have a further five branches in the UK and of course there's our manufacturing plant in Spain.
What sectors are you particularly strong in right now?
We've always been strong in the automotive industry. We have some of the largest stocks of ISO 4162 flange screws in the UK and with the ability to manufacture bespoke parts from prototype to production stages, so we've become something of a "go to" for end users, Tier 1 and after-market customers.
Similarly, within the utilities and electrical sectors, we have maintained contracts and customers by providing an excellent service and meeting the rise in demand for standard and specialised parts.
How popular is your manufacturing business? Growing? Are you seeing more requests for special products?
The manufacturing side of the group is seeing strong growth. We're working with our customers pretty much every day, looking at drawings and how we can service those customers needs. Whether it be fro ma full prototype to production part, or even something as simple as designing a specialised coating with our plating partners. We love a challenge at Kebrell! We've even gold-plated parts for a bespoke order last year.
Can you tell us about your in-house repackaging service?
Our in-house repackaging department has been one of our USP's for many years. We can offer a range of packaging services from a simple polyethylene bag with customer labelling requirements to a fully bespoke, branded design.
By having the packaging facility on-site, it allows us to provide customers with a quick turn-around and keeps costs lower than if we were to send to an external facility.
What are the key benefits of working with Kebrell?
One of the key benefits of working with Kebrell is our stock holdings. We have some of the largest stocks of fasteners in the UK and we're always ensuring that our customers have a minimum of 12 months stock available from our CDC.
We have some incredibly knowledge-able staff throughout the Kebrell group, who are always ready to help with customer requirements. We've adopted an attitude of "if we haven't got it, we'll source it" - which we believe gives our customers a complete fastener solution, without the need of having to shop around.
Any final thoughts for our readers?
We've got some exciting plans for 2019 including the launch of several new product lines towards the first quarter. We are looking forward to what next year will bring and are keen to strengthen our position within the industry, as well as developing relationships with our existing an new customers.
