Alstons Trade Talk 2018

Welcome
Our dedicated workforce
Philip Grindrod – Managing Director
Message from Philip Grindrod
2017 has been a challenging year for the industry with uncertainty
surrounding the Brexit strategy and the price volatility that has
existed within our raw material market.
On the positive side Alstons have continued to invest in the future of
our business throughout 2017 on items such as: A new and efficient
layout for our upholstery and loading bay areas, a new showvan and
a new delivery vehicle and two trailers.
During the Christmas shutdown we also installed a new fabric laying
machine within our cutting room, which will be complemented with
a state of the art fabric cutting machine during the Easter shutdown.
These investments are made to keep Alstons at the forefront of
delivering a first class service to you, our valued and loyal; customers.
We look forward to extending a warm welcome to you at our stand
at the January Furniture Show, where we will be presenting our
latest models Fleming and Sullivan.
Wishing you all a happy and prosperous 2018.
Tony Spear - Retirement after 40+ years!
Gary Chisnell - 25 years service
Sue Miller - Retirement after 20 years
Christine Green - Retirement after 21 years
Andy Kennaugh - Commercial Director
Message from Andy Kennaugh
I would like to thank all of our customers for your continued
support throughout the year.
The retail environment during 2017 continues to offer its challenges
and I am delighted how so many retailers continue to develop their
store presentations by creating imaginative and inspiring displays.
We continue to invest in our business and in 2017 we took delivery
of our brand new show van, enabling us to bring our fantastic NEC
launch to many of you.
Despite a difficult environment, I am delighted that as 2017 draws to
an end we are ahead of last year. This is a real testament to everybody
at Alstons who continually develop, create and manufacture our
sofas with continued unfailing enthusiasm and support.
The new products for NEC 2018 are extremely exciting and
I welcome you all to our stand as we all continue to drive our
businesses forward.
I would like to thank all of my team for their continued hard work
and you, our customers, for your amazing support.
I wish you all the best for 2018.
Glenn MacPhail - 50 years service
Style on the go
Dave Evans - Retirement after 12 years
In addition to the main site in Colchester we use 4 regional
transport hubs to distribute our products.
• Selby serving the North and North East
• Burton upon Trent serving the North and Midlands
• Melksham serving the West and South Wales
• Belfast serving Northern Ireland and Eire
Our overnight trunking operation means we can often
deliver the day after production. Using local drivers , on
familiar routes, provides you with the continuity of service
that makes Alstons transport the best in town.
Alstons have a dedicated team of 25 drivers
who pride themselves in delivering the very best
distribution service across the length and breadth of
the UK & Ireland.
Alstons also invested in a brand new show van which has
been touring the country with our dedicated drivers at
the wheel.
From Stirling to Southampton and from Llandudno to Lowestoft
they always go the “extra mile” to ensure customer orders arrive
on time. They love and care for every sofa as much as you do !
We were extremely delighted to be awarded the AIS Gold
Standard Award 2017.
It is the ultimate reward for any AIS supplier to receive this
reward, as it is voted for solely by the AIS members.
Our fleet of high specification “Daf “ lorries are subject to a
rigorous safety inspection programme every 6 weeks , this gives
us the reliability to keep the wheels rolling – over 1 million
kilometres covered each year!