Montague L Meyer Ltd (MLM) is one of those names that is synonymous with the timber trade. Its present incarnation, born of a management buyout in 1998, has recaptured its original cachet and the company now counts itself as the UK’s largest independent importer and distributor of softwood and panel products.
It’s fitting, therefore, that a company of MLM’s stature should be carving a comfortable niche for itself in one of the timber industry’s booming value-added sectors – flooring.
Around three and a half years ago MLM decided to set up a stand alone laminate flooring division – supplied by Kaindl Flooring – with a dedicated storage facility and sales force. Thus, while the group’s headquarters are at its Barking site, its flooring business is controlled from Widnes under the aegis of Peter Kiely.
‘Since that time it’s gone from strength to strength,’ says Mr Kiely. ‘Kaindl were one of the pioneers of laminate flooring and were founder members of the EPLF. They are superb at product development and bring many new products, designs and decors on stream, so from day one we’ve been involved with one of the number one suppliers in the market place.’
Product development is driven by healthy dialogue between manufacturer and distributor and feedback from the latter’s customers, but the most significant development of very recent history has been the ‘major shift from glued-together systems to glue free flooring’.
‘I think it’s fair to say that Unilin were the pioneers of that with the QuickStep product, swiftly followed by Kaindl,’ says Mr Kiely. ‘Managing that shift in the market place in terms of stock management and training customers has been a job, but an interesting experience for everyone involved.’
Patent protection
Fortunately the ‘interesting experience’ has not included litigation concerning the patents of competitors’ glue free systems. Kaindl’s system which is covered by a fiercely protected patent, is a ‘snap’ product, rather than the ‘click’ product developed by Unilin and, ‘while there have been variations on a theme, there has been no real copying,’ says Mr Kiely.
MLM is Kaindl Flooring’s major distributor in the UK and offers a product list ‘as long as your arm’. The chief ranges, however, are the Snap range (Snap Original and Snap Countrystyle), available through MLM in 11 different decors, and Big Foot, which boasts 13in wide boards.
Big Foot, says Mr Kiely, is unique: ‘There are other manufacturers who make a wide board, but it’s only in one or two decors. They use the same paper designs that are used for the standard width boards and sometimes it looks a bit bizarre when it’s laid on the floor. The papers that Kaindl use for Big Foot are specifically designed for that width of board.
‘The beauty of the board width,’ he continues, ‘ is that it gives you the opportunity of unusual designs and decors that you can’t get with a normal width board, such as herringbone effects, ceramic tile effects and so on.’ Added to its aesthetic qualities, of course, the Big Foot floor features fewer joints and is quicker to lay.
What the customer wants
MLM still supplies glue-together flooring from Kaindl ‘because there are still fitters out there who prefer it,’ says Mr Kiely. ‘The perception is that it’s a stronger floor with less likelihood of the boards creeping apart or having problems if you’ve got a slightly uneven sub-floor. It is just a question of perception because we don’t get problems with floors coming apart, but you have to give people what they want.’
Pretty soon the fitters will be able to have their cake and eat it. Snap Plus, which was launched at Domotex in January features a glue on the board’s groove. When the tongue is dampened and then snapped in, the moisture activates the glue. It’s the same sort of principle as a lick and stick envelope and the fitter benefits from the ease and speed of installation of a snap together flooring system and the strength and stability of a fully glued floor – it’s the best of both worlds.
‘We’re not aware of anyone else doing it at the moment,’ says Mr Kiely. ‘The advantage that Kaindl has over the other manufacturers is that it’s relatively straightforward with a snap together product – with a click-fix flooring it’s a bit more difficult.’
Snap Plus will enable MLM to broaden its base from domestic and light commercial classifications to medium commercial, enabling it to push through into the lucrative restaurant market. The company has already had some success in this sphere, however. ‘I strongly believe you’ve got to be upfront about what your product will and will not do,’ says Mr Kiely. ‘We have supplied laminate flooring to some restaurants where we say it’s only a light commercial application, you can give the joints a dab of glue to get extra strength and stability, but don’t expect to get long-term use.
‘Most of these restaurant customers say they change the floor every two years anyway, so they don’t mind. It’s a fashion thing,’ he continues.
Major exhibitions
MLM sets a lot of store by exhibitions and, this year, along with Domotex, will appear at Interbuild and at the National Floor Show at Harrogate (at which it won a ‘Best Stand’ award in 2001).
Kaindl provides marketing support, such as point of sale material, and MLM supplies this to fitters, shopowners and merchants as a promotional package to help them sell to their customers. In fact, the flooring package is complete, including underlay, beading, doorstops, radiator pipe covers, metal door bars, glue, fitting tools and everything else that could possibly be required to lay a floor.
‘We spend a great deal of time with our customers making sure the basics are done correctly, that they’ve got the stands in the right locations, they’re supplied with literature, that their staff understand the product and know the unique selling points against the shed offerings,’ says Mr Kiely. ‘That’s why MLM decided that a specialist flooring division with specialist reps was the correct way forward. With our knowledge we can help our customers sell the product through to their customers.’
MLM offers a two to three day delivery service throughout the UK, but the reality is very often a next day delivery. ‘One of our main successes is the fact that the customer can have the product there so quickly and as a package. Most fitters will book 5-10 days in advance, so the merchant can quite comfortably sell the product and its accessories, just from the display and know that he can pick up the phone, place the order and it will be there within a couple of days, delivered out to site ready for the fitter to go in.’
In fact MLM holds stock so its customers don’t have to. It generally carries about £250,000-worth of stock, stored in a 16,000ft² warehouse. As the lead time from Kaindl is three to four weeks, MLM is in no danger of running out of supplies, despite the high turnover. And product turnover is carefully monitored so the company doesn’t get caught out by the vagaries of fashion and left with any stock redundancies.
UK tastes are still very traditional and the bestseller is three-plank beech which ‘outsells everything by a country mile’. Snap Countrystyle, with its textured finishes has made an impact however, and there are steady sales in the terracotta tile-style decors.
Because stock items are held in Austria, MLM can bring individual lines across little and often in order to test the market.
Testing the market is key to MLM’s success and it will always dip a cautious toe in the water before taking the plunge. The next addition to its portfolio for example, will be engineered wood flooring, not from Kaindl, but from another manufacturer.
Engineered parquet
‘We see major growth in this area over the next two years,’ says Mr Kiely. ‘People have taken the entry level laminate flooring, liked the concept and want to trade up. Some prefer a clear timber without any knots, others prefer a more lively grain configuration with lots of knots and you can’t really get that with a laminate.’
MLM is now sourcing potential partners for engineered parquet flooring and, following the recent visit to Domotex, is in negotiation with a number of top quality European manufacturers of this product with a view to having a comprehensive range available. An announcement is expected very shortly.
