Racking Solutions Partner

Logistics Business talks to José Miguel Sobradillo, AR Racking Country Manager UK & Ireland, about the Spanish company’s global success.

How will good racking differ from bad racking? Why is it essential to use an expert racking provider?

“I love that question; I have been asked many times about this as most people think racking is just steel with holes. AR Racking has the most efficient range of uprights and beam cross sections together with very highly engineered connectors, making us one of the most competitive racking suppliers in the world. An expert racking provider is not just the one with good product but also the one that gives you the best service. I love a sentence I heard for the first time in the UK: you have two ears and one mouth, so you should listen twice as much as you talk. Don’t think of AR Racking as a provider, think of us as a partner that listens to the customer, fulfils your needs and delivers a quality product on time. Tell us about AR Racking, a brief history of the company and its current reach. AR Racking is part of Grupo Arania, a Spanish company with more than 75 years of experience in the steel industry, first in coiling, then tubing, racking and shelving and now in over 100 countries. The racking division has shown double digit growth in recent years, reinvesting that profit in people and a much bigger production facility. I am very proud of the team I work with. The company has the most efficient product, the most automated factory and the best service, diversifying its presence in Conventional and System Integrators Solutions throughout the world.”

Can you expand a little on AR Racking’s presence in the UK market?

“The UK market is very special for me because I have been responsible for it since joining AR in 2012. At that time our Maidenhead head office was just opening and we had a small network of stockists and project distributors working in small segments. Step by step, we have built a strong network of loyal stockists and increased the number of loyal project-oriented distributors, who are key suppliers in the small, medium and large segments. You can see I used the word ‘loyal’ twice – it was deliberate, because AR really believes in long-term relationships and we are much more a loyal partner than just a supplier. We must add to this distribution network the very large number of key accounts that our office in the UK has built in recent years. Our team has done excellent work building relationships and supplying many substantial projects on time and with excellent service. I can very proudly say that once we do our first job for a new customer, that client will  always stay with AR for the future.” Read the rest of the interview here: https://flickread.com/edition/html/index.php?pdf=5f3d1fcf3160d#50