Baldwins launches trade supplier

Baldwins Industrial Services of the UK launched on 1 October Baldwins Global Distribution, a new division, to supply lifting products to the trade. Equipment from more than 20 manufacturers, mostly in China and Taiwan, is sold under the Baldwins-owned brand names LiftinGear and RadioHoist. Baldwins has also been appointed distributor for the UK and the Irish Republic of the Telecrane range of radio controls from Taiwan.

LiftinGear is a range of general lifting products and RadioHoist is chain hoists and scaffold hoists fitted with Telecrane radio controls. As an alternative to using these brands, however, customers can have their own branding, company name, phone number, etc. applied at the factory.

Mike Hughes, business unit director, expects turnover for the first year to be around £530,000 ($770,000). He described Baldwins Global Distribution as a new concept for the distribution of lifting equipment and related products aimed only at trade accounts with a strict policy of no sales to end users. He said that the company has “established local representation in the Far East giving us hands on monitoring of quality and related issues along with ensuring the goods are correct and despatched on time”.

Unlike competitors, Hughes claimed, “we take the strongest product from different factories giving us the best possible range of quality products at the right price”. Product search is another service on offer, where items are located that customers have been unable to find elsewhere.

Hughes claimed that prices were already cheaper than competitors by between 5% and 10% but larger savings could be made. For larger companies prepared to pre-order or those wishing to establish a hire fleet, he said, part or full containers of equipment could be ordered, at a saving of as much as 40% over normal prices.

Stocks are held in the UK and can be sent all over the world but there are no dates yet for the establishment of Global Distribution centres in the USA. Spare parts are available from stock and there are workshops to handle warranty repairs.