INSIGHT

Space to grow O n 4th February 2011, Ann Hall - widow of the late Tim

Midwood, founder of the company that bears his name - formally unveiled a plaque to mark the opening of TIMco House. In addition to providing a complete

new suite of administrative and sales offices and a specifically designed quality room (replacing the now famous and time honoured garden shed) the new building extends TIMco’s warehouse by 1,700 square metres, providing a total of more than 8,500 pallet positions, currently holding 4,500 tonnes of inventory across 4,600 product lines.

It’s worth spending a few minutes in the reception area of T.I. Midwood’s new warehouse, office and quality building – if only to reflect on where the company came from and what has made it one of the UK’s largest and best respected fastener wholesalers.

and go a long way to explaining Midwood’s success. Perhaps most insightful, is a UK and Irish map comprised of

TIMco customer names with the inscription, “Since 1972 you have helped to make us one of the UK’s largest wholesale suppliers of fasteners, fixings, nails and power tool accessories. Thank you.” It was a theme that Simon Midwood reiterated in speaking to guests, who included customers, suppliers, company personnel, and local business support organisations: “Collectively you have made TIMco what it is.” Turning to the development of the new building he acknowledged, “Naivety is a wonderful thing. I had no idea what we had taken on”. The decision taken in principle three years ago was, Simon explained, “based on optimism – building sales, increasing the sales team, expanding the range.” The final decision to go ahead was taken in 2009 in the midst of an extraordinary challenging market. However, Simon Midwood revealed, the company had in the last three years achieved 40% volume growth. The company now has thirty-seven employees in the UK, including nine sales representatives. It recently established a Taiwan sourcing and quality assurance office, employing another ten people, also present at the opening. To the entire TIMco team Simon Midwood extended his appreciation, calling them the people who had “stood up and taken on the challenge of a growing company”. Looking forward, Simon Midwood told Fastener + Fixing

Magazine that he saw the company’s main objectives as further strengthening the brand and systemising its packaging to work more effectively on TIMco’s merchandiser units, which have been redesigned to enhance the quality of information provided to end customers.

Later Ann Hall recalled to guests assembled in the new sales

office, “In 1972 we had three young children, as well as endless dogs and ponies, but we borrowed the money from the bank and imported our first container from Taiwan.” Toasting his absent father Simon Midwood noted: “My father

and my mother created an industry name”. Which is why it is worth spending those few minutes in a reception area, where an illustrated timeline details the company’s development from an initial small range of nylon insert nuts and self tapping screws, through a series of product introductions and warehouses, and the industry-wide shock of Tim Midwood’s death in 1996, to the current ten million pound sales operation - despatching 180 orders a day to mostly longstanding customers throughout the UK and Ireland. In the reception area two other displays quote some of those customers

84 Fastener + Fixing Magazine • Issue 68 March 2011