Gibbs & Dandy is celebrating the official opening of the latest branch in its network, as it cuts the ribbon on its new Stevenage branch.
Gibbs & Dandy elected to open the branch in response to the closure of generational merchant Chas Lowe & Sons based in nearby Knebworth. The national business stepped in to continue the supply to the area’s thriving building community and to safeguard local jobs, offering new roles to all Chas Lowe & Sons team members.
Kevin Lowe, son of founder Charles Lowe and a former Chas Lowe & Sons director, now Sales Director at the Stevenage branch, joined Gibbs & Dandy Sales Director Andrew Cushing and Stevenage MP Stephen McPartland at the event to conduct the formal ribbon cutting ceremony.
Stevenage FC first team players were also in attendance at the celebratory event, taking on the public in a football challenge in aid of local charity Garden House Hospice.
The Stevenage branch is the company’s third premises in the local area, alongside its Bedford and flagship, seven acre Luton site.
The new branch offers an extensive range of products including bricks and blocks, landscaping, bathrooms, ironmongery, and plumbing and heating.
The Stevenage site is also the first Gibbs & Dandy in the country to house an entirely undercover timber warehouse, meaning all timber stocked is kept completely under shelter all year round.
Following the ribbon cutting, Gibbs & Dandy Sales Director Andrew Cushing said: “We’re proud to formally launch our new Stevenage branch, our third in the local area.
“Chas Lowe & Sons has provided an excellent service to the local trades for over 60 years, and that’s something we’re continuing in our commitment to the region. The new branch marries staff expertise, an unbeatable product range and outstanding facilities designed with trades’ needs in mind.
“The team’s seamless integration, their enthusiasm and willingness to learn are what have really made this new branch such a success, and I cannot commend them highly enough. Here’s to a great future in Stevenage.”
Stephen McPartland, Stevenage MP, said: “It’s positive to see a national business investing so significantly in the local area. Chas Lowe & Sons was a well-established and highly commended business within the region, and the safeguarding of the workforce’s jobs by Gibbs & Dandy is very much welcomed.
“Generations of local people have benefited from the company as both customers and employees, and this will continue thanks to Chas Lowe & Son’s legacy living on through Gibbs & Dandy here in Stevenage.”
