Consumables are a core business for CR Laurence. “We really do have it all!” says Director Dave Beckett. You can see just how extensive the range is on the CR Laurence website (www.crlaurence.co.uk) – and if you open an account on-line this month (April) you will receive a free gift.

“Due to the sheer volume of stock we have, we try and encourage our customers to order through our website as much as possible,” says Dave. “For those who aren’t sure, we’re happy to help them set up accounts and show them how easy the website is to use.

“We know how important availability is, so we ensure our stock updates are instantly visible online, which means our customers can accurately plan their job and count on next day delivery from our 11,000m2 of warehousing. “We want to take the stress out of sourcing consumables and make the whole experience easier,” says Dave. “While it’s a good problem to have, our greatest challenge is letting our customers know how vast our consumables product range really is.”

The company’s expanding Rochdale premises house aisle upon aisle of carefully catalogued products, from well-known brands such as Akemi, Tenax and Corex and own-brand CRL products that have proved to be every bit as popular.

For designers and architects, who tend to favour smart phone technology, the CRL App has been live for quite some time (along with a Caesarstone App for the engineered quartz that CR Laurence also sells). However, marketing co-ordinator Chris Ashton says: “It seems many people prefer to use our website, so that’s what we’ve invested in.” That investment includes a new, even more user-friendly home page, so if you have not visited for a while it is worth taking another look.

In addition to John Becket and Nick Noble, who are on the road keeping in touch with customers and promoting new products, CRL has a dedicated team of six sales staff and technical advisors in the office taking calls and dealing with queries.

CR Laurence is renowned for its established bathroom range of more than 50,000 items and has now also started to supply a modest range of taps and under-mount sinks, which have been an instant success with kitchen studios. It is all part of the ethos of offering a complete service.

We really do stock everything… including the kitchen sink!

CRL silicone sales are at a high, not only the general purpose, black, clear, white and grey CRL brand silicones, but the 18 shades of colour-matched silicones that are an ideal complement to the 32 colours in the Caesarstone range.

In view of the CR Laurence aim to be a one stop shop for customers, it’s no surprise that most orders of Caesarstone include CRL colour-matched silicone and Tenax resin.

Essential for fabricators, CRL general purpose adhesives are available in black, white and clear, while straw also proves to be a favourite and the competitively-priced Corex template sheets, 5in grinding blades and Akemi stain repellent are long-standing best sellers. John Beckett, Dave’s son, who also works at CR Laurence and, like his dad, is no stranger to selling consumables or Caesarstone, says: “These are the everyday products that people have to use. And once they’ve tried our CRL products and realise what good quality they are, it makes sense for them to buy all their consumables from us. It’s not just about what they save on carriage, it’s an easy, reliable, efficient process – and most people would rather buy everything from one place with a guaranteed delivery time.”

With every intention of staying at the top of its game, CR Laurence works closely with its American parent company on research and development to release a stream of innovative products that aim to keep the company one step ahead of market needs.

Latest on offer is an improved CRL solid surface cleaner that can be branded with the fabricator’s own details – a useful marketing tool for CRL’s customers that has proven to be a great success. (There are new materials-handling solutions for use on-site that will make life easier for fixers, too).

• CR Laurence has just finished stocking a brand new warehouse with Caesarstone. It is due to open in the next few weeks. More about that in the report on Interiors in the next issue of Natural Stone Specialist.