The successful Bury St Edmunds branch of Hayley Group, the market-leading supply partner to UK industry, is celebrating 30 years of service to its customers.
Despite having a prominent presence in the region, the branch has no intention of resting on its laurels, as Branch Manager Jerry Keeble and Assistant Manager Dan Moulding have a mission to continue to grow their market share.
With a sharp focus on customer service, they have built a strong and loyal team of 21 in the cathedral town.
Staff development and career progression are key to the success of the branch, as every staff member is encouraged to fulfil their potential either through apprenticeships or the Hayley Inspire training programme.
Jerry, 58, has been with the company for 18 years while Dan, 28, has 12 years under his belt, climbing through the ranks since he joined as a “Saturday boy”. They are however some way behind Christine Fotheringham who has been with Hayley from the start.
Located on the town’s Moreton Hall Industrial Estate, the 6,000 sq ft branch has a trade counter and stocks 5,000 product lines including bearings, seals, power transmission, fluid power, drives, lubricants, PPE and tools.
Brewing is a key sector for Hayley Bury St Edmunds with Greene King Brewery as one of its main customers.
With many customers in the agricultural sector, the branch has become established as the East Anglian ‘Agri Hub’ for SKF Agri bearings. As well as supplying hydraulic hoses and fittings for farmers, which are in great demand at harvest time, the branch will start making hydraulic hose assemblies for the first time in early May.
“Key to our success has been the customer care and service that we offer,” says Jerry. “We have great people working here who have adopted the culture and go above and beyond for our customers.
“We have such a wide range of customers, and I am proud to say that we are their trusted partner because we take time to understand their business, key performance indicators and requirements. We take the pressure off them and they trust us to the get the right part for them and find solutions. Without our customers, we have nothing.”
Dan adds: “We continue to build our customer base in a variety of sectors and have our sights on some key business in the next couple of years. In addition to selling core products such as bearings, drive and transmissions, we are seeing growth in fluid power and have recently taken on an employee with specialist knowledge to concentrate on this.”
“With succession planning in mind, we have developed a talented team with an average age profile of mid to late 30s. Staff turnover is very low because we like to think it’s a good place to work with a good environment.”
The branch is focused on giving something back to the community in return for the support that Hayley receives from customers and staff. Charities supported include St Nicholas Hospice and the local air ambulance service, while staff also volunteered for a beach clean at Hunstanton alongside Polyco.
Hayley Group has a network of over 50 branches and specialist centres across the UK and is one the UK’s foremost value-added suppliers of leading-brand engineering components, consumables, and related support services.
For more information, please contact Josh Crampton, Hayley Group’s Marketing Communications Manager, on 0121 585 9935 or Duncan Foulkes, publicity consultant, on Tel: 01686 650818 or 07779 785451.
