Somewhere on the road, secured safely in the back of a smart black LGV or HGV, is a STORM delivery on its way to transform yet another project.
STORM Building Products believe in inspiring change. For over two decades, the STORM Building Products team have worked resolutely to support and innovate the building market with reliable product ranges and second-to-none services.
From humble beginnings to becoming a cornerstone distributor in the UK market, this is the story of a company founded on an overwhelming aspiration to be different.
This is STORM.
OUR PAST
Every day, we remember where we came from and what we set out to do.
The story of STORM started long before the company even began.
In 1978, Southgate was established with the goal to revolutionise the market in its own way with protective window films and high-quality fenestration services. The ethos of hard work and customer loyalty that existed within the company ran deep but the family ties were deeper, and in the early 90s the current managing director of STORM, Bruce Mitchell, started at Southgate after years of fitting window films alongside his father.
As Southgate grew, so did the ideologies and Bruce wanted to change the business and develop it further to sell plastic. The demand was there, and the ambition was present; the new business just needed a name and a strong foundation.
In the year 2000, STORM Building Products was born. The goal? To create and supply high-quality polycarbonate plastics and offer complete package management for builders, wholesalers, landscape designers, avid DIY’ers, and beyond.
From the beginning, STORM aimed to become the port of call for comprehensive solutions, where you could source everything you needed for projects in a simple, effective and cost-efficient way… from a name that conveyed trust.
OUR PROGRESS
No company succeeds without challenges; it’s how they are overcome that shows its strength.
Year on year, STORM grew. Humble beginnings developed into pride-filled achievements, and the strength and integrity of the business increased with every product sold, deal secured, and customer satisfied.
In 2004, STORM moved premises to a much larger and more suitable location. Not only did this reflect the ever-growing trade successes and goals of STORM but allowed the company to expand its business offerings.
Prior to the move, the company had kept and supplied products to meet specific requirements as and when they were required; now, with a much larger headquarters and warehouse, STORM could hold large quantities of stock and moved much further up the supply chain as a result.
As a business in the South West, STORM is shaped by the community around it and does all it can to give back. In the early days, with limited staff and vehicles, this was the company’s transport focus but as the business grew and demand appeared for the STORM ranges all over the United Kingdom, necessary developments were made to meet these new delivery locations.
Currently, there are twelve vehicles in operation all over the mainland UK every week and two more will join the sleek fleet in November 2021.
A fun fact about the fleet? In 2020 (20 years after STORM began), the fleet was painted all black – because if it’s good enough for the most successful international rugby team in the world, it’s good enough for STORM.
OUR PRODUCTS
Usability. Quality. Efficiency. STORM products are designed to exceed expectations.
Polycarbonate roof sheeting was the original focus product of STORM and remains just as strong of a resource today.
In the early days, the company worked primarily on the demand of its customers and would source and sell whatever was required to folk similar to themselves. Today, STORM is still dedicated to catering to the exact needs of customers but on a much bigger scale.
Twelve ranges have formed the strong offering of STORM for over 15 years and have been the direct focus of the team for distribution.
Recent business initiatives have condensed the ranges into four comprehensive categories: Outdoor Living, Wall and Ceiling Cladding, Polycarbonate Roofing Solutions and Corrugated Sheeting. This was to adapt our marketing to make the terminology of the products suitable and accessible to a large variety of customers from different backgrounds.
STORM also made the strategic business decision to reduce the number of individual products from over 5000 to under 2000 so a more focussed, direct and quality service can be provided consistently.
OUR PEOPLE
STORM build relationships founded on trust from our employees to our distributors.
When STORM began, the team was small; a close-knit unit of 12 who had no set team but worked collaboratively on multiple roles to drive the business forward. Over two decades later, the team is over 40 strong and has grown exponentially year on year, nourishing and adopting new talent along the way.
The management team at STORM firmly believe in investing in their people and support the determination and passion to be the best in their role while believing in what they do and utilising their skills and passions.
It is this conviction that helps to build such strong links with suppliers and customers alike and retain their loyalty for years past and years to come.
The STORM ethos supports thinking of customers and distributors as partners and offering all the tools required to make business simple and successful. The STORM brand isn’t afraid to be different while still keeping the standard skills and expectations that guarantee solutions.
OUR PURPOSE
We want the STORM brand name to breathe trust into our customers
The STORM team are always looking for new and monumental ways to raise the bar and polish every aspect of the business to remain a market leader in the UK industry. Looking to the future, STORM’s goals are all about evolving to new levels as an employer, distributor, customer and partner.
Committed to progression, STORM aims to continue to grow and integrate with approved stockists that share STORM’s values. With strong business and integrity comes trust and the STORM name aims to inspire confidence; that every product, phone call, order and invoice will be done to the highest standard.
We believe in what we do so our customers, suppliers and partners can believe in us.