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IAN ALTON hears how North East Vending's responsive and all-round professional approach is helping it to remain a leading player in its sector.
NORTH EAST VENDING LTD is a company which offers living proof of the old adage that biggest isn't always necessarily best.
In an era when we are continually being told that this is the age of the major multi-national, it's comforting to come across a business that has established an enviable track-record over the course of a twenty five year history (1974-1999) - without losing the personal touch.
North East Vending, which has depots in Sunderland and Middlesbrough and which takes on a hands-on approach to a broad portfolio of clients large and small across the region, has survived and prospered by occupying that all important middle ground in its chosen sector.
Says Sarah Johnson, sales and marketing director at the company: "It's a cliche, but big enough to cope, small enough to care is a phrase that sums us up well. We have grown steadily over the years and now employ over 20 staff, but we have never developed so rapidly as to lose that personal touch. We have never over-reached, preferring to service our existing clients well rather than spread our resources too thinly as many in the industry have been tempted to do."
It's a controlled approach that has worked well for a business whose expertise is founded on the back of its managing director, Ernie Johnson.
Ernie is a man who understands the vending industry very well - so well in fact that he has taken up the role of chairman of the National Vending Association; he also assists on the European Vending Board.
Over the course of four decades, Ernie developed an intimate understanding of the industry - an it's an understanding that now permeates throughout the company.
Ernie has recently taken a back seat and given daughter Sarah and son Phil (operations director) a more hands-on control of the business. This has coincided with a change of name (the company was previously known as North Eastern Catering and Vending) and a revamped corporate image.
Talk to the team at North East Vending and you're not talking to sales staff - you're talking to experts. Most of the team who work for North East Vending have been at the business for five years or more. As well as giving the company a friendly, easy-to-do-business-with feel, what this also means is that they understand the requirements of clients.
Says Sarah: "Flexibility is one of the keys to our business. Clients don't want to be tied into a certain type of product; they want a vending supplier that can respond to their requirements, one that doesn't simply install a vending machine and then leave them to it."
This is certainly something North East Vending couldn't be accused of. The company has been quick to recognise the shifting dynamics of the vending industry. Hence in the majority of cases these days, vending equipment is installed at the premises of clients at no cost to themselves.
What this means, as far as Sarah is concerned, is that it's crucial for North East Vending to get the right products - which means responding to client requirements, often at short notice.
"This is where size is an advantage compared with the national vending operators," says Sarah. "Because we have our ear closer to the ground, we can watch changing tastes and demands more closely and service them in a way which many of our competitors can't."
"In addition to this, we are not tied to any particular suppliers and we don't bulk buy our products. We prefer to mix and match to suit our clients' particular tastes."
"For us, this means that the client gets the best of both worlds in that it recieves the responsiveness that only a smaller organisation can provide backed up by the professional approach that befits one of the longest established independant names in the North East region."
North East Vending are long-term members of the influential Automatic Vending Association and are quality registered through their unique quality standard which has been created and maintained by the members of the Association to further guarantee their clients receive the best information on vending services.
Sarah Johnson's words just about tell you all you need to know about North East Vending and suggest that, as this company looks forward to another 25 years in business, this is one celebration that is well worth drinking to.