COMPANY FOCUS: GRS PAVING GRS
PAVING STEPS OUT
Eden Kandla Grey A
fter some two-and-a-half years of rapid, largely organic growth, GRS Paving has set up as a standalone division, with a sharper proposition for builders merchants, a broader product offer, and a clear ambition to become a long- term strategic partner.
The company is part of GRS, more usually know for decorative aggregates and concrete blocks. For GRS Paving managing director Joanne Wilkins, the move is less about reinvention and more about unlocking existing potential.
“In that time, we’ve grown exponentially, but it’s been as part of the building products division without real focus,” she explains. “The team have done an awesome job expanding the paving offering, but we haven’t, until now, been able to put the full attention on the product portfolio or the technical requirements. We recognised that if we really wanted to service customers properly, paving needed its own focus.”
GRS Paving now operates as a dedicated division, while keeping close ties to the wider group. The result is a more agile operation, better equipped to respond to the distinct demands of the paving category. “We still work with building products day in, day out. Basically, all that we do, we do together, but we can now make the right decisions for paving as a category,” she says. A key driver behind the split is the fundamental difference between paving and core building products such as blocks and bagged aggregates. “With building products,
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Fiona Russell Horne meets a company that’s branching out to build a focused paving offer for merchants.
bringing in the more decorative, aspirational products that merchants can sell to drive margin,” Wilkins says, adding that there is much interest in these ranges, although it’s still early days, with samples going out and displays being requested. The aim is to give merchants a clearer customer journey, from entry-level products through to premium solutions, enabling them to upsell and improve profitability.
it’s about UK manufacturing, operational efficiency and cost management, because those products can’t travel far,” Wilkins explains. “With paving, it’s about global sourcing strategies, inventory management and logistics: which ports you’re using, where stock sits, how it moves.”
The relationship between the two divisions remains critical. Shared locations, joint customer visits and collaborative selling means that merchants still benefit from a joined-up approach. “It’s not about separation, it’s about focus,” she explains.
For merchants, the most visible change is in the product range. GRS Paving has moved beyond a solid core offering to develop a broader, more design-led portfolio, particularly at the mid-to-high end. “We’ve really expanded the added-value offer,
“It’s not just about us. It’s about helping merchants sell more and make more margin themselves,” she says. “What excites me isn’t just the product, it’s the experience we’re helping to create,” she says. “Those moments in people’s gardens, that they spend with family, with friends, or just a sneaking a quiet coffee in the morning, that’s what this is about. We have to provide the right product quality and range so merchants can deliver that experience to their customers.” Central to GRS Paving’s strategy is positioning itself as a true partner to merchants, rather than simply a supplier. This includes responding to trends and supporting merchants with insight and innovation. “We want merchants to come to us and say, ‘We’re seeing this trend, can you find something that fits?’ That’s the relationship we’re building. Working hand in hand gives us a different perspective, and that helps us support merchants better,” she says. At a time when much of the construction supply chain is under pressure, GRS is investing, something Wilkins says she is proud to be able to do. Looking ahead, digital
www.buildersmerchantsjournal.net July 2026
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