FEATURE
Founders – SBT ’ s Pat Hodgers , left , and Martyn Semark .
We ’ re a one-stop shop – we ’ ve sold everything from toilet seats and LED lights to ceiling and carpet tiles .
crammed with a huge range of items . Open Monday to Friday , 8am-5pm , it ’ s packed with everything from PPE , branded workwear and tools to engineering parts , lubrication , power tools , generators , compressors … and with an eye on winter , you can currently find big bags of rock salt near the counter !
Everyone ’ s business card is the same at SBT – there are no “ work titles ” here . But what you do have is a clear commitment to serving the customer with a level of personal service perhaps lacking elsewhere after so many operations closed or retreated online .
Dan Thurlwell is the “ senior sales guy ” who ’ s been with SBT for nearly 14 years . He says : “ We ’ ve become a single source supplier for a lot of companies .
“ That ’ s one of our straplines – whatever it is , you can get it from us . We ’ re a one-stop shop – we ’ ve sold everything from toilet seats and LED lights to ceiling and carpet tiles . We ’ ve even carpeted out offices and done logo designs for companies .”
The key , says Dan , is the stock they carry and the 100-plus years of expertise among the team .
He continues : “ People can see our stock online , for instance , and know that if they order , say , 100 boxes of gloves and they ’ re in stock , they ’ ll receive them the next day .
“ A lot of my time is now spent looking at major national contracts – I ’ m just in the process of doing one for a major company to supply all their UK PPE and safety products .
“ But whether online or in person , we will always try to help the customer . We get people bringing all sorts of bits and pieces in so we ’ ll identify them , tell them what they are , solve their problem and , hopefully , source the parts they need .
“ And with the shop , you can see it , try it on , handle the tools and get what you want on the day .
“ We ’ ve got more than £ 1m-worth of stock here . People expect to come here , for us to have it on the shelf and to walk away with it – and that ’ s what usually happens .
Packed - the new store is wellstocked with PPE and other items .
“ But we don ’ t just shift stock – we ’ re completely the opposite to that .”
And Pat , who ’ s been there from the start , puts it even more succinctly : “ We ’ re just good at what we do ,” he smiles .
Visit sbtltd . co . uk
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