Summary
• Grange Fencing produces around 3,000 miles of fencing and trellis each year.
• The company produced 45,000 fence panels per week following the January storms.
• Major customers are offered a vendor managed inventory service.

Grange Fencing’s vital statistics pack a punch. The Shropshire and Humberside-based business processes around 70,000m³ of timber per year and, if its annual output of fencing, trellis and related products were put end to end, it would stretch for around 3,000 miles.

Across its two manufacturing sites, at Telford and Hull, Grange Fencing can hit 60,000 fence panels per week. Turnover has doubled in the past decade and, this year, is knocking on the door of £40m. The company employs 250 people.

Behind these impressive figures is a single-minded commitment to service.

“Fence panel manufacture isn’t actually that interesting and many other companies have similar product ranges,” said managing director Duncan Hill, candidly. “But what is interesting, differentiates us and wins us business is our service. It’s how we manufacture and deliver, together with our supporting activities.

“Our industry is seasonal and is very hungry for space and working capital,” he added. “It’s difficult for our customers to carry a lot of stock but when there is a sudden surge in demand – as there was following the storms this January – they really need a supplier who can seamlessly raise their game. To paraphrase [American business magnate] Warren Buffett, when the tide goes out you can see who isn’t wearing swimming trunks.”

Modesty is preserved thanks to Grange’s emphasis on its own stock building and on planning, both for seasonal demand and for contingencies.

The seasonal increase in demand is predictable and so, for example, the company invests heavily in raw material and finished stock from around October onwards to prepare for the spike in demand the following Easter. That’s when 35-40 loaded trucks will leave the seven-acre storage facility in nearby Much Wenlock each day – plus around half that again from the Hull site.

“Historical seasonal trends are combined with the latest feedback from customers to create production and stocking plans,” said Mr Hill. “This drives the resulting purchasing plans which are then discussed with the whole supply chain. Finally, everything is subjected to a rigorous ‘what if?’ analysis and only then are the plans and purchase contracts signed off.”

January storms

The ‘what if?’ contingency plan kicked in as soon as the storms struck in the first week of January this year. “It’s exactly what we plan for so we just pressed the go button,” said Mr Hill. “All our customers were instantly very busy and by the Monday after the storms we were producing 45,000 panels a week across our two sites. It went seamlessly and we – and our customers – never ran low on stock.”

The ability to switch into overdrive is partly down to the close relationships Grange maintains with its raw material suppliers, both in the UK and abroad, some of which have been trading partners for 40 years.

Around 70% of the company’s stockholding is the result of its own manufacturing, with the balance made up of imported finished product. “We tend to buy all our components ready cut but if there’s a storm we do have the capability to saw from bigger sections,” said Mr Hill. “We don’t like to be too dependent on one source.”

Grange’s overseas sources include Ireland, Scandinavia and eastern Europe and it has representatives based in Latvia and Poland. “We have a basket of supplying countries and sawmills and alter the balance according to the market,” said Mr Hill.

The company’s own stockholding is one thing, but it also works hard to ensure its customers are able to maximise sales by carrying the right product profile.

“Our larger customers are offered a vendor managed inventory service whereby we ensure they are always in stock of an agreed range of products, while making sure their stock value never exceeds pre-agreed limits,” said Mr Hill. This way, he added, the customer has improved stock availability but less money tied up in it at any one time.

Meanwhile, all Grange’s customers benefit from what the company believes is the largest field sales force in the fencing industry. “Other companies have been cutting back on them but we think customers still want to see a real person,” said Mr Hill.

The team comprises two managers, six salesmen and a team of four merchandisers who are “hands-on”, making sure the products are displayed to their best advantage at customers’ premises. A fourth tier of the sales effort is a team of display erectors.

“The sales team uses a mobile data system to demonstrate what extra sales opportunities could be realised if the stockist offered an amended range of products,” said Mr Hill. “For example, they may be able to point out that 10% of a nearby competitors’ sales are in gazebos and that the customer should be in that market too.”

The standard delivery option is via a stock replenishment order to a merchant or retailers’ premises but “standard” can be something of a misnomer. When one major DIY shed requested that fence panels be delivered stacked vertically, Grange invented and patented a packaging system for doing so safely. It manufactures the reusable metal packaging at its Metpost factory next door to its Telford facilities.

Smaller orders can be delivered direct to a building site or home. Home deliveries account for around 3% of sales and are offered as an additional service to Grange’s stockists.

These stockists include an increasing number of fencing specialists.

“In the last decade fencing contractors have been buying increasing volumes from specialist fencing wholesalers – because they stock everything a contractor will need to complete almost any quality fencing job. We’ve been supplying these fencing specialists and have been staggered by the amount of business they do.”

Fencing is complemented by the full range of timber garden products – pergolas, arches, gazebos, trellises, gates, log edging and grow-your-own products, for example – and the field sales team brings customers up to speed on the range, including new launches.

Treatments and colour ranges

A full range of treatments is also available. The on-site pressure treatment plant handles both green and brown Wolman treatments, while the fence panel factories boast state-of-the-art dipping plants with a choice of golden brown and dark brown preservatives.

Grange is the only manufacturer to offer pre-colouring on its higher value pressure-treated products. “Not only does it give our stockists something different to sell, the colouring system offers a longer colour life – up to five years with an added protection against UVA.”

This longer life benefits the stockist as well as the end user. “It’s a high-quality finish and retains its colour for much longer so it’s very good for displays. We’re flat out on painting at the moment and much of it is for that purpose.”

While timber garden products remain the core of the business, Grange has considerable metalworking expertise. The aforementioned Metpost was acquired in September 2009 which, along with Post Anchor (acquired in 2000), makes Grange the UK’s leading metal fence post fixing manufacturer.

And last year the company launched several ranges of metal fencing, railings and gates, which, once established on the market, will account for around 10% of turnover.

Whatever the market brings, Grange’s story will stay the same, said Mr Hill. “We’ll rely on an ever-improving level of service to create growth for both us and for our customers.”