Hayley is proud of its reputation for being synonymous with the bearings trade since its formation in 1976.
The company began as a modest shop based in Blackheath in the industrial West Midlands, operating under the name Hayley Bearings Ltd and initially supplying only bearings.
Fast forward nearly 50 years and the Halesowen-headquartered business is now one of the UK’s largest engineering MRO supply specialists, employing more than 1,200 employees across the UK, with overall turnover exceeding £300 million.
Since 2016, Hayley has been an integral part of the global industrial and construction supply group Descours et Cabaud, operating under the industrial division of DEXIS Europe.
The company retains bearing product stock to a value of £15 million, composed of more than 40,000 part codes, enabling rapid delivery to trade resellers both in the UK and beyond. It is a true one-stop-shop solution, as Hayley acts as a single-source supply partner.
Having developed direct agencies with most of the leading brand manufacturers, the company guarantees that the products it supplies are 100% genuine and traceable, competitively priced, and readily available from a central warehouse.
Unique selling points of Hayley’s dedicated trade division include the depth of staff knowledge and experience, and its impressive stock profile of key engineering components, unrivalled within the industry.
This exemplary knowledge and experience are embodied by UK Trade Sales Director Mark Jones, who has 40 years of service to his name, and Export Sales Manager Mark Fantom, who has worked for the company for 37 years. Their team of 15 staff have a combined 352 years of experience in providing trade customers with industry-leading service.
Both men have been with the company from its early days and bought into the business ethos of Hayley from the very start. As is evident today, this has paid rich dividends, as the trade and export division supplies products to 500 customers in 50 countries worldwide.
Hayley offers a drop-ship service to the trade, removing any reference to the company as the supply partner. Trade partners also have access to millions of pounds of stock on a next-day delivery basis, meaning that they do not have to tie up money in products that they may never sell on.
Having significant purchasing power and a good relationship with a wide range of major manufacturers enables Hayley Group to provide access to thousands of genuine products across multiple brands.
The company also provides trade partners with full back up and access to specialist product sourcing and technical teams, from bearings, seals and power transmission to pneumatics and hydraulics, and industrial lubricants.
At the core of Hayley’s success is its time-served and ever-enthusiastic staff. “The company has always believed that our people are fundamental to delivering a first-class service to our customers,” said Mark Jones, UK Trade Sales Director.
“Our staff turnover is very low which is a key factor in our success. This fact alone makes Hayley stand out in the marketplace, as we have an enviable depth and breadth of knowledge, and
our customers enjoy a level of consistency that they wouldn’t get
with other providers.
“We prioritise customer service, spending time visiting and getting to know our customers and to understand their needs. We also develop relationships with all the leading manufacturers of engineering products and keep our finger on the pulse in terms of emerging technology, market prices and competition.
“This experience enables us to effectively support our customers who sell into a wide variety of industry sectors and geographical locations. It’s very much within our interest to help our customers succeed.”
Mark Fantom added: “We travel around the world to locate the best and most hard-to-find products for customers,using our experience to deliver successful solutions for them. Customers often come to us with photographs of products that they want us to identify which is when the experience of our team really comes to the fore.
“Technology has made the world a much smaller place, making it easier for people to locate products online at the press of a button, but there is no substitute for staff knowledge and experience, and personal customer service.
“Our mission is to stock the greatest variety of products and provide the best service, so that customers keep coming back to Hayley Group.”
Mark Fantom, Export Sales Manager
Looking to the future, both Mark Jones and Mark Fantom have no intention of resting on their laurels, as they seek to achieve ambitious targets and develop the trade and export division business for Hayley.
Mark Jones is keen to continue growth within the UK re-sale sector by engaging with existing and new distributors to provide a greater range of products to them. With new product categories constantly emerging, he says there is still a huge opportunity for growth.
Mark Fantom also has his sights on growth by identifying new distributors around the globe. Hayley is an authorised distributor for many well-known brands in the bearing, power transmission, fluid power, and lubricant sectors. But due to the increased difficulties that have come with supplying customers on the European mainland in recent years, Mark and his team have set their sights on actively increasing business done with customers in Australasia, the Americas, and Africa.
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