Family values behind Lancashire firm’s growth

After more than thirty years supplying office stationery and furniture to businesses of Lancashire and beyond, this Blackburn company is growing faster that at any time in its history.

It all began in 1985, selling used desks and office supplies to nearby businesses. Today, Lomas work on projects all the way up to full-scale office refits on sites from London to Edinburgh and many more in between.

“Our company as grown as our customers have grown,” says Mark Lomas, director and son of the company’s founder. “We’ve built really strong relationships with the companies we’ve worked with. When their needs grow, so do our range of services.”

Mark says: “If a customer comes to us and asks for something new, we’ll find a way to do it. At one time we’d never done flooring, we’d never fitted a kitchen. But then a customer needed it, so we added the specialism, and now it’s another thing we offer.

“People don’t want to have to deal with four or five different suppliers, they just want to know everything is taken care of so that they can focus on their work. We’ll take on the project management, meaning they don’t have to worry.”

Mark believes this dedication to getting the job done is how his company builds such long-lasting relationships. And that’s not just with customers.

“Lomas is a family business and anyone who comes to work with us becomes part of that family,” says Mark.

Around half of Lomas’s employees have been with the company for more than ten years, and one member has been with the firm for 17 years.

“We have really low staff turnover,” says Mark. “We treat people right and we take care of them. Even during the recession, when things were really tough, we didn’t let anyone go. And in return, our staff stay loyal to us.”

Recent appointments include stationery specialist Mark Porter, who was recruited to the division and helped the department achieve a 50 per cent increase in turnover, and successfully widening the product offering. Meanwhile, employee Mark Rolfe was rehoused in the furniture department to help the company service growing demand.

Today, Lomas is growing quickly. Turnover was up almost 50 per cent last year, with new staff recruited in 2016 and more planned in 2017.

The company has even been honoured by its peers, earning Initiative Gold Dealer of the Year 2016 at the Integra National Conference. Integra is the UK’s largest office products dealer network and Lomas saw off strong competition from 250 network members to seal the award.

The company stocks 20,000 products, and as a big believer is shopping local, Lomas estimates that around two-thirds are bought from suppliers within a ten-mile radius of its Blackburn base.

Mark, who is also a director of the Blackburn with Darwen business network Hive, said: “There’s two reasons we buy from local suppliers. The first is that we want to support the local business community and keep local people in jobs.

“The other reason is that buying local ensures we can strike up good working relationships with suppliers. We know we’re buying from firms with good quality products, proper after care service, and because they’re nearby they can deliver on a very quick turnaround.”

Exceptional service levels a huge part of the Lomas ethos.

“The best part of this job is the buzz of a completed project, seeing the customer enjoying their new working environment knowing we delivered above expectations,” says Mark.

“We’ll never say no. Whether that’s chairs, desks, flooring, IT, kitchens, painting walls, project management, health and safety checks, we’ll always find a way.

“Our whole company and all its successes over the last three decades have been built on making customers happy.” Please use photo of Mark as the main image

Growing Fulwood insurance group gets an upgrade

After seven years of rapid growth, Direct Validation Services is overhauling its Fulwood office. 2009 marked a milestone for the insurance services specialist, the year it became part of the nationwide Ryan Direct Group.

Since then, adding new services to its portfolio and winning business with new customers has seen the firm flourish in an industry that has struggled overall.

“Business is really good. We’re continuing to expand in the market and we achieved 20 per cent growth last year,” said director Lee Bradshaw. “We’ve got some strong growth targets over the next three years. It’s a really exciting time for us.”

The success has lead to recruitment, which in turn means a need more more office space. Eight years ago, Direct Validation Services occupied one floor of its current building. Late last year, it took occupancy of all three floors.

The business had been a customer of Lomas for a number of years, purchasing chairs and desks. When it came time to turn the three-storey building into a ‘home’ for the business, they knew who to ask.

“We obviously needed the space, but we also wanted to do something for our people, who are a really important part of what we do here,” said Lee.

“The environment was looking a bit tired and the configuration of the desks hadn’t been optimised. It wasn’t unpleasant, but we wanted to give our employees a great working environment.”

Mark Lomas explained: “It was a really big project. We produced 3D renders so that Lee and the team could visualise our ideas. As well as supplying furniture, we managed the whole project, including IT, electricals, new partitions, flooring, breakout areas, fire regulations, the whole thing.”

Lee added: “We’ve known Mark and his team for a long time. Even though this is more complex than any project we’ve worked on together before, we were confident they would do a good job. The price was competitive and it was great to have Lomas on board.”

The refurbishment is due for completion in the next few months, while Direct Validation Services continues to grow and recruit. Anybody interested in a role within the organisation can contact hr@directgroup.co.uk

In association with Lomas Office Furniture & Stationery Ltd 01254 781249 www.lomasoffice.co.uk sales@lomasoffice.co.uk @Lomasoffice @lomasofficesupplies