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BBN is now an engineers’ merchants, serving industry, trade and the general public throughout West Yorkshire and Greater Manchester from its Leeds Road, Bradford headquarters and its two branches in Oldham and Sowerby Bridge.
The company was created by members of the Lerman family, and remains in the family today. As the company’s name suggests, they had identified a need for a supplier of nuts and bolts in the local engineering industry. Forming a good relationship with the customer, identifying their needs, and expanding and adapting the range to match it, are essential elements of a successful company. So it should come as no surprise that BBN was quick to see many new opportunities. A wide variety of products associated with its main fastener stock were soon added. The company was transformed into an engineers’ merchant, supplying most of the tools and consumables required by mechanical engineers. But the process hasn’t ended there, over the years the company and the selection of products it supplies have changed to meet the latest demands of the market: indeed the company now supplies products for many diverse trades as well as to the public.
Like so many good companies that know the value of giving their customers choice, quality and value, BBN is a member of the THS Tools Group. The company joined THS in the late eighties and has found the combined purchasing power of over 100 companies has allowed BBN to stock a far wider range of products than had been possible before, and at lower prices. Membership has given BBN additional strength to compete against the big national companies.
A growing reputation for quality, value and service was accompanied by an equally quickly increasing customer base, so in 1990 a new branch was opened in Royton, a suburb of Oldham. A decision had to be made; using the name Bradford Bolt and Nut made little sense for an outlet that was based elsewhere. The name “BBN Fasteners and Tools” was chosen as one which also encompassed the company’s expanding range. This rebranding worked so successfully that soon the whole company was renamed “BBN FastNet”.
The company had a winning formula and as the years have passed it has continued its growth. Two major steps were taken in 1999 when BBN purchased two competitor companies and incorporated them into the group.
The first company BBN bought was R&M Sutcliffe Ltd at Sowerby Bridge. This was a family-owned merchant company with customers throughout the Calderdale area. Because the owner wanted to retire, BBN was the ideal company to take over, as it was also a family-owned business and shared R&M Sutcliffe’s customer-centred approach. The second company was Carr Lane Engineering Supplies Ltd, situated in Low Moor at the time. It was a subsidiary of Billam plc and a specialist in engineers’ cutting tools. Because the parent company was going out of business it needed to dispose of its assets. BBN was able to step in, buying Carr Lane and incorporating the staff and business in the operations in Leeds Road. Through this purchase the BBN Group was able to further widen the range of services it could offer its customers, having added tool and cutter grinding and bandsaw blade manufacture. This is in addition to having one of the widest ranges of fasteners, cutting tools, hand tools, adhesives, abrasives, lubricants, safety wear, power tools and hardware in the north of England.
The company stocks tools from a wide range of companies including; for handtools Draper, Silverline, Starrett, Stanley and C.K; for measuring Moore & Wright and Mitutoyo; power tools from Bosch, Milwaukee and Ryobi; Spanners from Teng, Bahco and Gedore; as well as wide ranges of janitorial, clothing, paints and many other lines from well known and respected brands and suppliers, such as G&J Hall, Harrison and Clough, Dormer Tools and many others. If a brand is associated with good quality and value to the customer BBN is sure to stock its products.
The company is now run by Philip and Michael Lerman. Philip’s son is also active in the business, meaning three generations of the family have been involved in its history.
Philip Lerman is also a Cambridge mathematics graduate and computer expert, skills which he has applied to the control of the 15000 items the company sells every month. From the early 1980s the company developed in house and refined a unique and bespoke real time stock control system that has greatly improved the recording of stock movement and improved efficiency and customer service. The system uses BBN’s own barcoding, which includes quality assurance data, ordering information, as well as the price. Partly as a result of the system BBN was awarded ISO 9002, and auditing for it has also been made a lot easier. One of the other benefits of the system is being able to predict what stock will be required and so be able to match orders to demand. Getting the balance right certainly seems to be the key factor in being a successful independent company in the tool business. Michael and Sam Lerman are both graduate engineers and MBAs, giving the company considerable expertise to support customers both technically and commercially.
So with BBN’s combination of being a family business, the ability to grow and develop new lines, ongoing attention to the needs of the customer in both the long and short term, applying up-to-date techniques to improving the business, it’s no wonder the company continues to thrive.
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Airstream Communications