An impressive statement that shows the company is weathering the current economic storm well and continuing to grow the business of office supplies, furniture and equipment solutions.

According to managing director Mike Walters, year-on-year growth of 25 per cent is anticipated for the full year to December.

"I think this is a very realistic figure," he said.

"In fact, we have recently revised our short-term target to hit a £4 million turnover for 2008."

As such the business-to-business company, based in Royce Road, Eastern Industry, Peterborough, is looking to take on new staff.

Of four new positions, Luke Smith joined the supplies sales team two months ago. A new web-sales and e-marketing person has been appointed and joins the team imminently, and the company is currently recruiting a further new office interiors specialist and an extra furniture fitter. This will, in effect, mean a hike of more than 12 per cent extra staff to the existing total of 29. This reflects the company's consistent growth over the last 18 months.

The secret behind the success? As well as just plain hard work, says Mike, is the restructuring of the business in recent years, particularly with the shift to having people specialising in particular areas.

"We provide a wide portfolio of products and services and having experts in specific sectors is essential to add value to a relationship," he said.

"We are still small enough to treat customers as individuals and therefore genuinely focus on their needs, to provide meaningful and beneficial solutions."

As a result of the dramatic increase in business the company has undergone an internal restructure, which sees Peter Billinghay's role as sales director re-aligned to focus primarily on developing and reinforcing trading relationships with major clients and prospects.

With Peter concentrating on his new role, Darren Tuck becomes general manager of the office interiors sector. Darren will take over the running of the department and management of sales, including responsibility for the installation teams.

"2008 has been an exceptional year already for Walters thanks to the dedication of the whole team," said Mike.

"The time and commitment demonstrated, particularly by Peter and Darren, have produced some outstanding results and we look forward to helping them develop their new roles in the coming months.

"We are very proud that our previous record sales total looks like being eclipsed in 2008."

There are three core areas to Walters, each with their own particular needs which are serviced by specialists in the field.

Office Supplies, including stationery, remains the bedrock of the business and relies on building strong relationships with customers over a long period of time.

When it comes to Office Interiors (furniture, etc), Mike likens it to buying a kitchen and is often a project in its own right.


"We study work flows and customer objectives, then using up-to-the-minute technology, creating CAD drawings to create a virtual working environment for the customer, enabling fine-tuning and alterations before making critical decisions," he said.

With photocopiers, it is very much about finding the right solution to suit the customer. It could be that one printer could replace several, improving productivity yet making considerable savings.

In addition, the Walters service team provides total in-house support of the projects.

"We are never complacent, and are always trying new systems," said Peter.

"We are here to fit solutions to client needs, and always to provide best value."

It's a philosophy that clearly works well for all concerned. For instance, Walters is flourishing on the furniture side of the business, where it works closely with manufacturers.

In recent weeks, the company has carried out installations in Birmingham, Stoke, and London, as well as Peterborough.

A key to the success is that Walters has its own, manufacturer-trained installation team – which is "unique" to this area, and shows there is no compromise on quality and service.

Continues on next page.

Elsewhere online:
Walters Ltd website - www.walters.co.uk.