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The expansion is a response to customer demand and will enable the company to grow its product portfolio as well as its customer base.

Seeing the new premises open for myself, it was clear that customers are at the heart of this operation and its Leeds branch has been created to serve customers even more efficiently than before.

The branch was opened by councillor Richard Lewis of Leeds City Council; Phil Bailey, Lucite International’s vice president EMEA; Keith Piggott, Perspex Distribution’s managing director; and Roger Marsh OBE, chair of Leeds City Region Enterprise Partnership.

As its fifth branch, the Leeds premises will join centres in Blackburn, Tamworth, Chelmsford, and Weybridge. The warehouse measures 30,000sq ft and features a Holzma HPP500, with a second being installed later this month. The plastics saw was described on the day as the ‘Rolls-Royce of cutters’.

Perspex is our main distributor and we want to support them to the full”

Piggott exclusively told SignLink: “We’ve grown such a large business in Blackburn, we wanted to be able to serve the Yorkshire and East Pennines area much more efficiently. The customers on this side of the Pennines will be able to collect much more easily, and we’ll be able to provide a better service and be a more efficient supplier, adding value to their business.

“We hold the stock, so we release space for the customer and also release funding for a customer because he doesn’t have to hold that much stock. We do have to be there cut to size next day and that’s quite a challenge, but that’s why we have shifts that go through the night so we can deliver next day.”

Perspex’s key suppliers also attended the open day to show what they have to offer. This included Palram, manufacturers of polycarbonate and PVC sheets, which has started to exhibit more to get their name out there. One of the company’s newest products on display was the Palboard multi-layered PVC sheet, which can be easily fabricated for sign and display applications.

IPB Belgium was another supplier in attendance, with consultant Bart Mollie saying Perspex is their preferred partner in the UK, and the open day was a chance to get to know the team and offer technical support to customers. The company manufactures a range of PP and PET sheets.

Martin Green, sales manager UK and Ireland at Multipanel UK, notes the importance of lead time in the industry which is why the company has invested in a new £10m factory in Dover. One of its most exciting products on the market is the aluminium composite panel, Alupanel A-Lite. Green expects the product to grow in sales between 30 and 40 percent this year. He adds: “Perspex is our main distributor and we want to support them to the full.”

Seen at Sign and Digital UK earlier this year, SloanLED was eager to show two innovative products at the open day. Barry Blythe, European sales director of SloanLED, says: “The SloanLED Prism is our first foray into LED modules with secondary lenses on top. It delivers high brightness and is one of the most efficient products on the market.”

PosterBOX 3, for large, shallow fabric-faced light box illumination, also delivers high brightness, meaning energy and money is saved—while Blythe ensures the products are also easy to fit.

Leeds branch manager, Jonathan Marsden, concludes: “Ultimately, our business is about stock availability and quick delivery to match the fast moving pace of our customers. Our two Holzma HPP500 saws, 500 tonnes of stock and fleet of five delivery vehicles will enable us to meet the growing demand for quality materials in this area.”