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A visit by Brian Hall, Editor
For nearly 30 years the company has grown steadily and has gained clients across the UK and Europe, but it is only relatively recently the company decided to attract customers a little closer to home.
The company, originally named the Town Screw Company, was set up in Liverpool in 1979 as a distributor of industrial fixings and fasteners.
A management buy out and relocation to a small office and warehouse in Jackson Street followed four years later and the company developed, expanding its services to provide managed inventory systems to its clients.
The company expanded in 2000 doubling its warehouse space, with a move to Beaufort Street in St Helens and more recently it relocated to Ketterer Court, investing £500,000 in the development, opening its doors to welcome in both old and new customers to its new 6,000 sq Ft warehouse and trade counter. The company is a direct distributor for many leading brand names such as Bosch, Black and Decker, Metabo and DeWalt,
The company’s main business had been fixings and fasteners direct to industry, with products ranging from standard products through to specials used within various industries, including building automotive, electronics and railways. This business means the company has a substantial customer base in the UK and now supply products as far as France, Italy, Germany, Czech Republic, Hungary and Malta.
However with continuing requests from existing customers, Maran Atha decided to increase the range to include hand tools, air and power tools, personal protective clothing, abrasives, adhesives, silicon, sealants, cutting tools, hardware and security, measuring equipment, welding equipment and many more. Although it introduced these many new lines the company remained as committed to fixing and fasteners, which have been its specialist field for over 20 years.
The expansion was very much driven by customer feedback, the range had been growing as customers requested different products, the company had developed a wide supplier profile. But while the business was growing, and gaining new customers all the time, very few were in St Helens. Since the development of the tool outlet the number of St Helens accounts with Maran Atha have grown from only around ten to one hundred or more.
The establishment of the tool shop now means customers can get almost whatever they want and the company goes out of its way to keep its customers happy. In the two and a half years since building work was completed the company has constantly developed and improved not only the range of stock that it carries but also the way it is displayed. Anyone visiting the shop will find it easy to use, with products clearly displayed, with prices easily identified, in light aisles.
However although it is possible for customers to make a quick and easy visit to the store, find what they want, pay and leave, because getting help and advice from Maran Athas friendly staff is such a pleasant experience many customers will stay and chat. It is an environment that is a pleasure to do business in.
If a customer has a particular interest in a product the staff are quite happy to remove it from the box and plug it in, so buying from the company can be a real hands on experience.
In part this approach explains why the company does so well, and has attracted so many new customers in the last two years, another reason, as with so many tool companies is that its membership of THS gives it a much wider access to quality products than any of its local competitors can offer. Maran Atha will always endeavor to get anything the customer wants by the next day, and as it has access to online ordering through, among others, Harrison & Clough, Toolbank, DeWalt, Bosch and Metabo, no matter how big or small the customer Maran Atha will deliver this and all its services.
Within its turnover Maran Atha also offer services such as packaging and light assembly work. Some idea of the scope of the company’s offering can be found in the 800 pages of its catalogue.
Its hard to imagine what else Maran Atha could do to deliver a better service, because a fantastic range and a really friendly service, combined with a well laid out store certainly seems like the complete package. But having seen the enthusiasm the company and its personnel have for what they do you can be assured they will continue to grow and move on to even better things.
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Airstream Communications