INSIDE n Nurturing talent n Sam takes on product role n Maldon mudlarks

n Two area managers have beenappointed to ensure the smooth

operating of Kent Blaxill’s growingbranch network. Jane Collins, who joined the company as

the Melton branch manager in 2012 andsubsequently became responsible for theIpswich and Sudbury branches, will now bein overall charge of the company’s sevenSuffolk and Norfolk branches.The four Essex branches are now

managed by Dean Jackson, as well as othersas Kent Blaxill expands westward outside its

East Anglian heartland. Dean has extensiveexperience of the building supplies market,

having worked previously for Mitie, Duluxand the Crown contract team.James Park, commercial director, said:

“Jane and Dean have considerable sales andmanagement skills and are passionate aboutcustomers enjoying the KB experience. AsKent Blaxill opens in towns where we areless well known, we want every customer toenjoy the same level of service. “Our success is built on having happy

customers who enjoy knowledgeable andfriendly staff, good stock availability and anice cup of coffee.”

TRADELINESTHE NEWS AND VIEWS AT KENT BLAXILL SUMMER 2017 ISSUE: No 78

n A first cohort of armyveterans has completed

a Building Heroes trainingcourse at ColchesterInstitute, with Kent Blaxill asa major sponsor.Set up as a charity, the course

provides the veterans with ataster course on propertymaintenance covering a numberof different building industrytrades – enabling them to findout what trade they wouldprefer to take-up, either with acompany or in self-employment.The first eight veterans at

Colchester Institute, who allcompleted the course, now have

a Level 1 Health and Safety in theConstruction Environment andConstruction Skills Certification

Scheme (CSCS) card, which isessential for working in theconstruction industry.

Nick Scully, KB operationsdirector, said: “This was anopportunity to support afantastic charity which is bothhelping ex-servicemen to find anew career while also helping tosolve the national shortage ofskilled tradesmen.“We provided veterans who

completed the course with a KBbag for their first job – containing ahard hat, gloves, eye and earprotectors and hi-viz jacket. Wealso provided them with a voucherfor £300, enabling them to buyequipment from us at staff prices.”Brendan Williams, Building

Heroes chief executive, foundedthe charity in Sussex in 2013.The Colchester Institute coursewas led by tutor Michael Bloomsupported by Steven Hallgarth.Kent Blaxill also sponsors the

Decorating Skills Centre atColchester Institute.

Kent Blaxill is assistingarmy veterans on theBuilding Heroes courseto join the building anddecorating trades

Adam Ward,Faculty Directorfor Constructionand EngineeringTechnologies,presents acertificate and KBbag of equipmentto Duncan Short.

Area managers to steer branch network

Helping army heroesto become builders

Tradelines Summer 2017 kentblaxill.co.uk

Pirates in search of buried treasure were to befound at the Bury St Edmunds branch recently. Staffdonned fancy dress to highlight the Grand in theSand promotion which ran for a month.Customers purchasing items such as Sandtex,

Barn Paint and Ronseal Woodfiller were entitled to

take part in the prize draw to win either cash orchocolate.“It was a successful day which brought the

builders’ merchant and dec teams together and wasa bit of fun for everyone,” said Jason Brightman,branch manager.

n Talent developmentexpert Sue Reed will be

working with KB staff overthe next two years to helpimprove both theirknowledge and service tocustomers.Sue Reed has over 15 years’

experience in fosteringoperational excellence inpersonnel, customer excellenceand management development,including five years in thebuilding supplies industry.She has put together an

accredited programme for KentBlaxill that will focus on thesales specialist, coaching thenext generation, and uncoveringleaders. “Sue has an innovative style

that helps to bring out the bestin people, thus improving boththem as individuals and theirorganisations,” said AllannaDocherty, KB HR director.

n Standard sized flat rooflights are now available

from the KB glassdepartment.“The roof lights from Atlas

are aimed at making life easierfor the smaller builders andtheir customers,” said Lee Miles,Colchester warehouse manager. “These items are extremely

competitively priced.”• Also new in stock and ondisplay are Crystal PVCu

windows and doors.• Later in the summer the glassdepartment will also be takingdelivery of a new machine forcutting laminated glass. “It willbe able to handle shop frontsized sheets of laminated glass

and will be extremely fast andaccurate,” said Lee.Existing product ranges

include painted glasssplashbacks, processed mirrors,sealed units, secondary doubleglazing, laminated shop fronts,toughened safety glass, glassbalustrades, shower enclosuresand horticultural green houseglass. An in-house team cuts glass

while the customer waits.

Bury pirates challenge treasure seekers

Flat roof lights in stock

Sue nurturesKB staff talents

Showtime inEast Anglian A Kent Blaxill stand has

been drawing crowds atfour of the region’s majorcounty shows – in Norfolk,Suffolk, South Suffolk andTendring.The stand features Global

Stone paving, garden furniture,fencing, protective coating anddesigner paints.“We had a brilliant time with

good weather and lots of interestin our products,” said MonicaHartley, KB show team organiser.

Left: KB’s Chris Peverettentertains the crowds

Bury’s pirate crew

The winner of the first‘Grand’ was Scott Marsdenat the Colchester branch

kentblaxill.co.uk Summer 2017 Tradelines

n The Fire Brigade called at the KBColchester branch in May – to raise

money for the Fire Fighters’ charity.Charley Lynch from the showrooms

joined the crew in chatting to customersand highlighting Fire Awareness Week.

Yellow firemen’s hats were provided byKent Blaxill for children to try on, pose forpictures and take away.“It created some interest and everyone

had some fun,” said Charley, “with a fewnew faces visiting the Colchester site. We

also raised some money for a good cause.” The event was the first of what is

planned to be regular themed events atKent Blaxill which will be featuredextensively on social media by Charley(@KB_Inspirations).

Waterpoofsplash surfaces

n Bushboardwaterproof splash

surfaces are now ondisplay in the Colchestershowrooms flooring andtiling area.The seamless coverings, in

a choice of 25 attractivefinishes, are 100% waterproofand come in standard sizesthat slot together seamlesslyto give a clean sealed finish.“I don’t think there is

anything else like this productin the marketplace,” saidNick Scully, operationsdirector.The Colchester display

features Calacatta Marble,White Quartz, Ivory Marbleand Natural Greystone.

Fire Brigade calls at Colchester branch

Sam takes on productdevelopment rolen Sam Forrest has joined

Kent Blaxill asdecorative product manager.Sam, 22, who has experience

with national builders’merchants, is responsible forliaising with suppliers to ensureKent Blaxill buys the bestproducts at the most competitiveprices – and sells them tocustomers at the best prices.“I will be keeping an eye out

for new products, promotionsand discounts that are of interestto our customers,” said Sam.“I will also be working closely

with our teams in the branchnetworks and we will be listeningcarefully to customer feedback. Ifcustomers let us know of anynew products they want, we willtry to help them.”

“For the future, I will belooking to develop a biggerproduct range,” said Sam. “I willbe looking to build a greatrelationship between myself andthe product team, suppliers andcustomers.”

New kitchenson displayn A new Omega Sheraton

kitchen is on display inthe Colchester showrooms –one of a number of new linesattracting customer interest.“It is a modern high end

kitchen and is incredibly good qual-ity, but it is very reasonably pricedand is really good value,” said NickScully, operations director.Also now on show are:• A new Symphony Linearkitchen featuring handlelessdoors and drawers to create aseamless clutter-free effect.• The new Laura Ashleybedroom range, which is exclu-sive to Kent Blaxill in the area.• A new selector bar for kitchendoors and handles so thatcustomers can try mixing andmatching various designs.

Fire call: Charley Lynch meets thefirefighters, left, and a young enthusiasttries out the fire engine cab, above

Tradelines Summer 2017 kentblaxill.co.uk

CHELMSFORDCM1 3BY

%: 01245 262279chelmsford@kentblaxill.co.uk

COLCHESTERCO2 9JY

%: 01206 216000Sales@kentblaxill.co.uk

BRAINTREECM7 3GZ

%: 01376 335999Braintree@kentblaxill.co.uk

BURY ST EDMUNDSIP33 3TX

%: 01284 762401Bury@kentblaxill.co.uk

FAKENHAMNR21 8SX

%: 01328 864713Fakenham@kentblaxill.co.uk

HUNTINGDONPE29 6EB

%: 01480 435731Huntingdon@kentblaxill.co.uk

IPSWICHIP3 0AB

%: 01473 341330 Ipswich@kentblaxill.co.uk

MARKET HARBOROUGHLE16 7PS

%: 01858 469980marketharborough@kentblaxill.co.uk

NORWICHNR2 4UX

%: 01603 628973Norwich@kentblaxill.co.uk

SAFFRON WALDENCB11 3GB

%: 01799 521150saffronwalden

@kentblaxill.co.uk

STAMFORDPE9 1XT

%: 01780 753822Stamford@kentblaxill.co.uk

SUDBURY CO10 2FT

%: 01787 372241 Sudbury@kentblaxill.co.uk

WOODBRIDGE IP12 1RB

%: 01394 384255 Melton@kentblaxill.co.uk

Kent Blaxill Stores

@KentBlaxill and @KBDecorating

n Five Kent Blaxill mudlarks took part in theannual Maldon Mud Race in May, which this

year was sponsored by Kent Blaxill.James Park, Sam Forrest, Dan Barton and Andy

Tanner were among a field of 300 who waded andcrawled through 500 yards of thigh-deep mud acrossthe bed of the River Blackwater to raise money forcharity.Sam Forrest, Kent Blaxill’s new decorative product

manager, even finished a very creditable 11th.An estimated crowd of 13,000 watched the

unusual spectacle that has been running since 1973.James Park said: “As a spectator in past years I

never quite realised how exhausting such a shortevent could be. Kent Blaxill was so pleased to be

involved with the Maldon Mud Race as it is such agreat community event.

Maldon mudlarks draw crowds

n Harlow Rugby Club willsoon be opening its new

clubhouse and grounds, after amultimillion pound build thathas incorporated productssupplied by Kent Blaxill.The new clubhouse in Latton

Park was built by KB customerHutton Constructon.“We have increasingly been

involved in supplying materials forsome large contracts,” said KarlPannell. “In this instance we supplied

some £80,000 of products includingIbstock bricks, Lignacite Blocks, andAco linear drainage systems, as wellas a wide range from our varied andin-depth stock range.

“The contract highlighted ourability to supply not only our stockproducts, but a large number ofspecialised non-stock items whichwe could source for our client, aswell as an increased volume ofdirect-to-site business ex-works”“It has been very pleasing to be

involved with this project using thevery latest design techniques,” saidKarl. “We supplied a wide range of

materials and I was able to workclosely together with one of my keyaccounts to ensure we continue tobuild on our trusted relationship.”The Harlow clubhouse is

scheduled to open officially in mid-July.

New rugby clubhouse set for kick-offWifi oven nWant to put your

supper on to cookbefore you leave work? The Wifi Siemens oven can

be controlled remotely via anapp on a phone or Ipad. An ovenis now on display and connectedin the Colchester showroomsfor customers to test out.

Cast iron guttersn Cast iron guttering is

now in stock inColchester after enquiriesfrom builders. “It is reportedly not available

anywhere else in the area,” saidNick Scully, operations director.

Muddy marvels: fourof the KB finishers