P16-17 Hamilton Interview v1:Layout 1 23/11/2021 10:41 Page 17 Interview
So demand was higher than ever from wholesalers during the pandemic - how have you handled supply chain issues caused by the pandemic and by Brexit? It’s been a challenge in terms of getting the materials thanks to outside influences - whether it’s Brexit, containers, resource or materials - there’s been numerous reasons why we and our peers have been unable to supply product. Luckily we manufacture right here on-site in Bristol, so we were able to rework some product that we didn’t need to sell in order to make saleable stock. We have a dedicated forecasting team who help us keep abreast of the market conditions - what people are buying and specifying. With the team in one place on one site we can be reasonably reactive and flexible.
How are you future-proofing/Brexit proofing the business? Well we’re a family business, so we can essentially make instant decisions. We’ve got orders and production planning in process into next year. We have regular project meetings which allow us to forecast demand for materials and build stock for future demand. We’re recruiting more staff. We’re quite happy to invest more in materials and people - it’s a booming period. A key benefit of having our own workshops
and employees on-site is it allows us to fulfil bespoke/tailor-made product orders. We also have an in-house paint workshop where we can colour match products to meet popular paint colours. The work we do with specifiers is quite
important, especially interior designers. They don’t all follow the same trends, but there are certain trends that we can predict - colours, for example - all the major paint brands launch their ‘colour of 2022’ - so if an interior designer or specifier wants a specific colour, we can colour match as needed with our paint shop. It gives the wholesaler an opportunity to put forward a tailored solution rather than the basic off-the- shelf sockets.
Can you tell me about Hamilton’s approach to quality assurance - how does this make you stand out in the marketplace? It’s at the heart of our manufacturing process - we conduct rigorous in-house batch testing at our on-site testing centre to ensure that all our products and components are up to British
the start of this year was pretty rough - there were problems with client and project expectations across the whole construction industry - but I think there is more widespread understanding now of the pressures and shortages. We’ve all felt the pressure, so it’s been a rough time for everyone, but it was great to see us all pull together as one big Hamilton family!
Exhibition Support
standards. A lot of manufacturers don’t go to the same lengths that we do - there’s a difference between products that are cited as “designed to meet standards'' and those that are actually tested and meet standards. There’s too much slipping through in the industry - especially with online sales - you assume that all quality testing is equal, but that’s not true. Doing our testing in- house gives us and the wholesalers that extra peace of mind. They can trust that our products will work first time and they can pass that trust on to their customers. Returns are time and time is money lost for contractors.
Can you tell me about your outreach strategies for supporting wholesalers? We have an in-house marketing team who provide personal merchandising support for our wholesaler customers - we provide marketing materials, customised catalogues, customer flyers, samples, social media support, TV ads for wholesalers to play on screens in-store. We also run contractor days and customer conferences every year and provide on-going technical support as needed. We also have a great London showroom close to Cannon Street tube which is available for wholesaler use - many of our customers host their AGMs or other meetings there.
It’s been a challenging couple of years, but what have been some of your personal Hamilton highlights of the past 12 months? Launching a couple of new ranges during a pandemic - it’s been satisfying to see their success and see them in stock at a number of wholesalers. Getting back out and doing trade shows and seeing customers. Seeing the self- motivation of our employees here, who have come in day in and day out throughout the whole period. Up until Christmas last year and
What are the most important trade shows in your industry calendar? Shows like Decorex are where the conversations about upcoming projects are taking place - you can get a feel for what interior designers are doing with specific projects. You can get some feedback on a particular range, how it’s working for them, how we can improve it. That filters down to the wholesaler and the customer. The ELEX Shows, of course. Sand Down Park is always a big one for Hamilton and is a good opportunity to talk to the installers.
What can the industry expect from Hamilton in 2022 and beyond? Can you give us any hints as to new ranges/launches planned? We’ve got some new developments planned around USB next year - our smart lighting control system will be evolving as well, which will be launching next year. So a lot of technology on the functionality side, and some more work on finishes and aesthetics on the design side. The trade shows are kicking off again so we’re looking forward to being out and about and re-establishing relationships.
Finally - on a lighter note - as a fellow Bristolian - it was great to hear about your focus on employing locally and your community activity - can you tell me a bit about your community projects? We’re a very Bristol-centric business - we employ locally and sponsor local projects. One of our employees on the factory floor plays rugby for the Bristol Harlequins so we sponsor them every year. Another employee is in a bowls club which we support too. We also raised funds for the Bristol Royal Hospital for Children with a sponsored bike ride from Teddington to Bristol, a way for us to support a very worthy local cause.
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