Fibo Intercon has provided an update on the number of UK builders’ merchants implementing the firm’s touch screen batching plants for local collections of concrete, mortar and screed.
Back in February, Thorncliffe Building Supplies opened the first UK Fibo Collect facility at its Ewloe branch in North Wales. The independent merchant subsequently ordered machine number two for its Dyserth site whilst in May, the business hit a record day of sales with 9.1m3 sold to collect customers.
In March, Carvers Building Supplies committed to becoming the first English customer to launch the fully automated self-collect concept at its branch on Little Lane in Wolverhampton later this year. Conveniently situated next to the City’s ring road, Carvers is well-versed in ‘drive through’ concepts.
On Wednesday 29th February 2012 the business suffered a devastating fire which destroyed warehousing, offices and stocks. The following day, MD Henry Carver released a statement vowing to ‘regroup and rebuild a bigger and better Carvers’ and it was in the rebuild the following summer that the firm pioneered the Drive Through Trade Warehouse – a concept that features a centre drive lane with parking lanes on either side, allowing vehicles to park next to the materials and be quickly picked and loaded, all while undercover.
The new Fibo Collect drive-through collection station is intended to form an exciting continuation of this offering for customers. Purchasing Director Richard Boult said: “We are delighted to bring local customers in Wolverhampton access to this new service. The collect concept gives our customers a hassle-free solution to an everyday challenge that is ultimately more cost-effective. We are looking forward to the launch later this year.”
In April, Cartmore Building Supplies signed up to become the first Scottish merchant to install a machine at its branch in Lochgelly. Established in 1986, the independent merchant moved to new premises in May 2021 where it opened a stunning landscaping display in May 2022. The display, which spans over 1000m2 has received significant recognition by winning the UK Builders Merchant award for the ‘Best Hard Landscaping display in the UK’, seeing off stiff national competition to put Fife on the map as being the home to the very best in the category.
The new Fibo Collect drive-through collection station will form an exciting new offering for its customers with Director Gordon Banks commenting: “We are constantly looking to improve our offer to customers and following on from our superb, award-winning landscaping display, our agreement with Fibo will add another dimension to the services Cartmore can offer. We hope the facility will be up and running in July and this is a really exciting development for the business.”
Loose aggregates
Last month (May 2023), Fibo revealed it has expanded the concept to include loose aggregates, meaning that customers will soon be able to choose “exactly the right amount of loose materials all on the same touch screen terminal.”
With operations at Thorncliffe’s sites fully up and running, Fibo Intercon says it has learned the following key insights from its inaugural UK station in North Wales:
Average order size per collection is 0.5m3 to 0.6m3
Builders, Landscapers and DIYers collecting 0.5m3 of C20 save anywhere from £60 – £130 versus mixing on site (full cost analysis available).
Ratio of concrete to mortar sales is 60% : 40%
Mortar use cases from customers doing both brickwork and laying slabs
New markets emerging with contractors supporting utility companies
Fibo Intercon CEO Henrik Jeppessen said: “When we looked at the UK market we saw a huge opportunity to tackle the customer challenge posed by concrete delivery. Our solution ultimately gives you more choice: Choose exactly what recipes, how much you want to collect, and even how you want to pay.
“We are also highly motivated to learn how the collection model can help support sustainability by reducing waste in the production process and lowering omissions in the transport process.”
The latest UK videos on the Fibo Collect concept can be seen via https://linktr.ee/fibocollectuk
