PILOT STORE FLIES TO THE RESCUE

Added : ( Tue Jun 11 2002 )

(West Midlands, UK) – Imagine it is Christmas and you are a small engineering business with a big problem: every supplier is shut down for the festivities and you need some high tensile steel fast. Where do you turn? One man knew – he called Ray and Janet Durnall at Metal Supermarkets.
“We received a call on the Saturday, after we had closed up shop for Christmas, and opened the store up just for him”, said Janet Durnall. “We treat all our customers equally, whether they are a major manufacturer or a small engineering company.” The business offers 24-hour, seven-days-a-week service and if an assembly line goes down in the middle of the night, it will only take one call to Ray or Janet before it’s back up and running within a few hours.
The store at West Bromwich, which was formed in 1994, was the pilot store opened in the UK by successful Canadian firm, Metal Supermarkets. Metal Supermarkets is a specialised metal distributor focusing on small quantities of virtually all types of metals, custom cut to size and delivered quickly to the customer. Dubbed the "Convenience Stores of the Metal Industry," Metal Supermarkets was founded in Canada in 1985 and began expansion in 1987. It’s now the only small quantity metal dealer in the world and the world’s largest supplier of small quantity metals.
Ray, 52, and his wife Janet, 50, took over the store in 1996, bringing with them a wealth of experience in engineering, sales, and marketing – all of which have proved invaluable in running the business. Ray runs the sales side of the business, employing five counter staff, and Janet, along with one additional employee, takes care of the administration and financial side of things.
Ray has been a production engineer for over 35 years, travelling extensively around the world covering Japan, Switzerland, Germany, Belgium and Sweden teaching big businesses such as Lucas Aerospace and Rolls Royce how to implement the use of CNC (Computer Numerical Control) Programming - used for the automation of machinery in the engineering process.
Having run a successful engineering company for 16 years, he was actively looking for a new opportunity, when he heard about Metal Supermarkets.
“You’ve got to be self motivated in this business,” said Ray. “We knew there was a market for this service, not just to the large companies, but to the low turnover customer too. Customers are discovering us all the time and are delighted to find we can supply specialised metal.”
Janet Durnall knows a thing or two about forward planning, and helps market the business, along with Ray. “Our vision is to expand, and we hope to open more stores in the future. There is a real need for this in the metals industry, somewhere to call on for the supply of metal, when it is needed most. Often that brings in some unusual requests, but we handle them alongside the regular orders we receive from local manufacturing businesses,” said Janet.
“We had one enquiry come in that had us foxed; the need for a four metre length of stainless steel that would reach into the stomach of a cow. We had no problem supplying the steel, but we were intrigued to find out why it was needed. It transpired that the steel rod was to be inserted into the stomach of a cow to pump it full of vitamins after giving birth – calf and mother were doing fine after half an hour. We never envisaged being part of the post-natal care of the bovine industry, but you never know in this business,” Janet continued.
Customers worldwide are beginning to call Metal Supermarkets the “One-stop shop” for metal supplies, whether that is to supply metal for use in traditional maintenance engineering or for the specialised end user. One certainly couldn’t say their customers are typical of the standard metal supply industry.
“If I had once piece of advice to offer about running Metal Supermarkets,” said Ray, “It would be have a vision and make it work. We saw a need for this kind of business and we are pleased to find our customers are coming back time and again and spreading the word about Metal Supermarkets.”

########
About Metal Supermarkets:
Metal Supermarkets, based in Brampton, Ontario, Canada, is the only small quantity metal dealer franchise in the world and the world’s largest supplier of small quantity metals. The company sells virtually all types and forms of metals, custom cut to size, delivered fast; essentially, a convenience store for metal. Metal Supermarkets was founded in 1985 and began franchising in 1987. Currently, 80-plus stores are open in Austria, England, Scotland, Canada and the United States. Of existing stores, 21 are corporately owned locations.

Submitted by: Dee Briston Add your press release for free.

Find out more.