Firm looks to a brighter future following spring clean

The work at Arrow County Supplies, which has operated in Shrewsbury since 1976, has been made possible thanks to a grant worth more than £40,000 supported by the Marches Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP).

The firm specialises in the distribution of janitorial supplies and cleaning products to a wide range of customers across both the public and commercial sectors.

With an extensive and growing range of products which includes its own brand Andarta range, the pressure which its existing two units on Longden Road in Shrewsbury were coming under made it increasingly apparent that change was required.

The grant is part of the £2.5m Marches Building Investment Grant (MBIG) which is part-funded by the European Regional Development Fund.

Bruce Blackledge, managing director, said: “Ten years ago, we designed and built our base on Longden Road in Shrewsbury and it has served us well for many years. However, with ambitious plans to significantly increase our revenue over the coming 18 months, as well as our capacity to employ additional locally-based staff, whilst driving greater efficiencies throughout our customer experience, sourcing streams, marketing and HR, it became apparent that we’d need to reconfigure our existing facilities.”

The grant received by Arrow County Supplies has been put towards a total reconfiguration of the ground floor to create a distinct 'innovation area' where new products can be showcased to the industry and support growth in the sales pipeline. As a consequence, the existing canteen and staff welfare facilities have been extended and upgraded to accommodate this anticipated growth.

Work has involved the removal of walls to create a new open plan spaces and the integration of different floor surfaces and displays to create distinct work and demonstration areas to serve the business’s varied client base.

Mr Blackledge added: "Looking to significantly increase our revenue was never going to be a case of simply selling more products to more customers. We knew that to create cut through in new markets and increase our exposure to existing customers, we’d need to create something special that would bring the quality and innovation in what we supply to life.

“Developing space which could be dedicated to showcasing our products, allowing customers to see them in action and being able to listen to their feedback was, therefore, the route we needed to take and the MBIG funding has made a tangible difference in achieving this.”

Applicants to the Marches Building Investment Grant can be either owner-occupiers or tenants although for the latter, they must have a fixed term lease with at least six years unexpired.

Herefordshire Council is the accountable body for the MBIG scheme. Full details are available from Caroline Cattle and Alison Rogers on mbig@herefordshire.gov.uk or by calling 01432 260 662.