With more than 30 years’ experience dealing with some of the world’s leading paint, abrasives and equipment manufacturers, Symphony Coatings has risen to become a leading independent industrial coatings distributor in the UK.
The company sells technical paints, lacquers, abrasives, spray equipment and associated products to industrial users in the wood industry, such as shop fitters and furniture, joinery and kitchen manufacturers. Wood coatings account for around 70% of business but the company also supplies metal coatings to the decorative, protective, marine, container, industrial and yacht markets.
Symphony’s own supplier base features some of the biggest paint companies in the world, including Sherwin Williams, AkzoNobel, Jotun and Hempel as well as some of the most innovative coatings companies in Europe such as Renner Italia and Hesse Lignal. It also has its own brand of Narrowboat Paint and sells to some of the largest boat builders in the country, as well as the public.
Whatever the brand, customer service is paramount.
“We pride ourselves on fast, next day turnaround, accurate colour matching and our unrivalled portfolio of materials,” said James Nuttall, purchasing manager.
Rapid turnaround is possible thanks to the company’s own fleet of vans, which operate out of each depot. Delivery routes are planned based on what the customer demands are and the company has regional depots that offer “the personal touch” that can’t be replicated at national level.
Symphony has 10 branches throughout England and covers most major cities and regions, while customers further afield from these branches are served via pallet and parcel networks
“All the branches stock the same core lines although some are stronger with individual brands due to the make up of their own customer base,” said Mr Nuttall. “We have the added benefit that we can react to customer demands with the expertise and back-up from other branches.”
Those customers are principally industrial users of coatings – and commodity items such as primers and clear lacquers are the biggest selling products.
“Typically, the products we sell are technical coatings, lacquers and paints and need a level of expertise and knowledge to use,” said Mr Nuttall. “We do cross over with one or two products to contractors and decorators on products such as flooring and cladding coatings. We also sell durable exterior joinery coatings and marine coatings including OEM and refurbishment.
Along with the paints themselves, Symphony also sells pumps, spray guns and other associated equipment. It also works closely with companies that manufacture capital equipment, such as spray booths and it offers training.
“We have our own state-of-the-art spray shop based at our Colchester branch and can offer workshops on the latest materials and equipment,” said Mr Nuttall. “These facilities enable us to work closely with our customers and work as a two-way listening forum to what they are looking for.
“For customers new to spraying or for our regular customers wishing to review their spraying operation, we can offer free spray shop audits to establish where there are improvements and savings to be made.”
As well as listening to its customers, Symphony also has very close relationships with its suppliers – last year, for example, it worked in partnership with AkzoNobel on the launch of the latter’s Duracid FF range.
“We are lucky that we have suppliers that want to bring new developments to the UK market,” said Mr Nuttall.
He added that recent developments included investment in bespoke flooring solutions for architects and specifiers.
“We are looking at offering the full package to the people who influence design for flooring, flooring coatings and high end decorative paints with a permanent presence in London,” he said.
And this year the company is launching a specialist eco-friendly waterborne decorative coatings range called Origin Decorative.
Mr Nuttall described the current market as “tough” and competition as “healthy” and said the company had explored ways to extend its reach.
“We launched an ecommerce website called AllFinishes last February,” he said. “AllFinishes was the result of our vision to bring expert finishing knowledge to the DIY enthusiast as there are some products that we have access to that transcend B2B to B2C.
“As a result, we are able to offer a high level of technical advice to all of our customers, no matter what the surface. We have carefully sourced the very best products from our suppliers for the DIY customer, professional contractors and industry, from around the world, so they can achieve the ultimate beautiful designs and finishes.”
