Business is good on paper for Peterborough office supplies company
Peterborough firm Walters Ltd has already exceeded its total sales of any previous full year after only eight months.
Peterborough firm Walters Ltd has already exceeded its total sales of any previous full year after only eight months.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.
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Elsewhere online:
Walters Ltd website - www.walters.co.uk.A bright future ahead
THE future of Walters revolves around a simple aim – to grow the business successfully.
"We want to be bigger and better, to raise our profile, and we are constantly working towards that," said managing director Mike Walters.
"In today's difficult environment, that involves creating programmes to reduce customers' costs.
"For example, our ability to 'get more people into less space' meant one company staying put instead of having to relocate. And that was a big saving.
"We strive to provide more for less. Consider copiers, today's multi-function printers have advanced beyond recognition and are more reliable and efficient than ever."
Walters is a multi-million pound business, and a far cry from 1959 when Mike's parents, Jim and Eileen, started out as a corner shop tobacconist and retail stationer. Today it is recognised as one of the country's top independent suppliers of business equipment, office products and services.
Meet the dedicated workers
Supporting managing director Mike Walters in the family-run business team are a number of key personnel. Sales director Peter Billinghay started at the company 21 years ago when it opened showrooms in Park Road, Peterborough. Peterbrought 10 years' experience in sales and management, plus a degree in business studies, to his then role as sales manager.
The supplies business grew to add office furniture and business equipment, then photocopiers were introduced "In the early days, I was, generally, looking after everything," he said.
"Which is a far cry from today's world when being a specialist is crucial to doing a professional job."
Head of Walters Document Solutions, Vince Tindale, who has worked in the industry since 1985, joined as a sales specialist seven years ago after running his own copier business. Vince saw the "great opportunity that copiers and in-house service offered."
He has since been instrumental in driving forward this side of the business.
The company, which has had a long-standing partnership with Konica Minolta and is recognised as being in the top band of dealers throughout the UK. And, as Vince points out, pertinently in this age of economic uncertainty, "your next copier could save you a fortune".
Darren Tuck has been with the company for four years, and is now general manager office interiors.
Darren, whose back- ground is in retail sales, has been instrumental in establishing and growing the interiors section of the business.
Its professionalism and level of presentation has come on "leaps and bounds".
Key to the development is the use of CAD design, the ability to use render full-colour images and show a customer how their new office will look.
Tracy Wilson has been at Walters for more than five years and has justified her role as head of office supplies sales with consistent performance and developing strong relationships with many businesses and organisations throughout the region.
Mike Walter's wife, Mandy, is also active within the business, not only as company secretary, but also dealing with HR matter CHRIS Kimber is the company accountant, while technical director Stewart Lilley heads the IT and systems side of the operation. Both key players in the growth of this Peterborough company, due to mark the 50th anniversary in 2009, of Mike's parents starting the business.
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