Aycliffe Today Business Aycliffe Today Business Issue 40 | Page 29

The magazine for Aycliffe Business Park | 29
Upex Electrical Distributors managing director Gary
Monk (left) with new manager Craig Slater.
BRIGHT
SPARK
By Martin Walker
Aycliffe electrical distributors aiming
for growth with new appointment…
N
ewton Aycliffe’s only specialist
electrical and plumbing wholesaler
is aiming for future growth after
appointing a new manager.
Craig Slater has returned to Upex Electrical
Distributors after 12 years with a national
wholesaler.
The 34-year-old, from Newton Aycliffe,
has been appointed manager at Upex by
managing director Gary Monk, who wants to
capitalise on the continued growth of Aycliffe
Business Park.
Upex, which has been in business more 30
years, has over 120 regular customers on its
books – with around a third of those based in
Aycliffe.
But bosses want to win more work from
the burgeoning park, and have also appointed
a part-time rep to concentrate solely on the
immediate area.
And Slater is excited at the prospect of
growing Upex after re-joining the firm he’d
spent five years with during his first spell.
“Working with people I’ve known for
a lot of years and working with Gary and
benefiting from his experience in the trade
was a big pull,” said Slater.
“I know all the customers in the area and I
know Aycliffe inside-out, so it was the whole
package.
“Working for an independent firm again is
great, it’s more personal, and has more of a
family feel to the business.”
Slater is in charge of running Upex’s team
of five at Aerial House, next to the Great
Aycliffe Council offices on School Aycliffe
Lane, and trying to win new business.
He added: “I’m also constantly looking out
for new products and always moving with
the times.
“There’s massive potential in Aycliffe
Business Park – you see new arrivals
popping up all the time – and we’re hoping to
capitalise on the growth.”
Upex caters for a range of needs, from the
man on the street up to large industrial firms,
and includes Aycliffe heavyweights such as
3M, Gestamp Tallent and Lidl on its books.
“What we have over national wholesalers
is we can usually get our hands on products
a lot quicker because our credit and set-up
system is a lot less complicated,” says Slater.
“We also have a great breadth of
knowledge among our team which means
we can solve complex issues for businesses,
and usually fairly quickly.
“We often have people in from lots of
the well-known firms on the park coming in
and asking us to solve problems for them,
something which we thrive on.”
Upex is part of the Upex Group – a
collection of five companies owned by local
entrepreneur John Upex – and as well as a
strong Aycliffe customer base, it works with
clients all over the North-East, as far North
as Cramlington, down to Northallerton and
across to Barnard Castle.
They include a range of customers from
hospitals and pharmaceutical manufacturers,
to engineering and manufacturing firms.
MD Monk, who’s a shareholder in the
business, added: “We’ve got a wealth of
experience between us after all working in
the industry for a lot of years.
“We’re in a very competitive market,
especially with companies who do what we
do online only, but our biggest strengths
are our locality and service, as well as our
product knowledge and expertise.
“There are lots of wholesalers like us
that are purely internet based, but we’re
competitive with all of them and we cater for
the whole spectrum.”
Upex carries an extensive range of stock
in-house, which is supported by direct access
to local and national supplies, boasting a
same-day or 24-hour delivery.
Call in to Upex at Aerial House on
School Aycliffe Lane or give them a call on
01325 315315.