The spotlight is on – Chalford Building Supplies

Company profile:

• Business established: 1971
• Head office: Stroud, Gloucestershire
• Number of employees: 31
• Branches: 2
• Time working with Midland Lead: 17 years +

With branches in Chalford, Stroud and Calne, Wiltshire, independent builders’ merchant Chalford Building Supplies has been supplying both trade and retail customers for over 45 years.

Established by Alfred Creed in 1971, the firm’s current managing director Mathew Creed ensures the family-run business stocks a wide-ranging array of building and landscaping materials.

Amongst this extensive product range sits Midland Lead’s machine cast lead sheet, as well as lead ancillaries including pitches slates, multi-slates and fixing clips.

Of the 45 years in business, manager Steve Robbins says that the company has worked with Midland Lead for at least 17 of those.

Steve says: “Since I joined the company 17 years ago, I’ve always known us to have worked with Midland Lead. Through the years, we’ve flirted with other lead sheet manufacturers, but quickly found there were quality issues with the product, so we came back to Midland Lead and have stuck with them ever since.”

Commenting on why the firm stocks machine cast lead only, Steve says: “Midland Lead’s machine cast lead is what our customers are happy with. Occasionally it’s specified or requested by a customer, but mainly we stock it as we’ve never had any quality issues with it.

“The product is mainly used for local roofing projects on single houses, including extensions, renovations and new builds. Although I remember it was once bought for an x-ray room too,” he notes.

Aside from a quality product, Steve explains that he particularly values good service levels in a supplier: “Midland Lead offer great service and reliability. If there’s ever an issue, they’ll sort it straight away, and if we get a customer requesting lead sheet within 24 hours for an urgent project, we can contact the guys at Midland Lead and if there’re able to help with express delivery, they will.”

Looking towards the future, Steve says there are big plans in store and that resurfacing work, which began in November 2015 on the front yard at the Chalford branch, is now complete. “The yard was full of pot holes,” he says, “so we invested £350,000 and laid 900 sq. m of black paving and improved our timber storage capacity. Going forwards, the managing director is looking to make further improvements that will include trebling our covered storage so that we can stock more lead sheet.”

To keep updated with Chalford Building Supplies’ progress, follow them on Facebook or email them at chalford@chalfordbuilding.co.uk.