There are special offers in store to mark the opening of a new depot by Apex Grange in Dartford, Kent, on 21 March.

If you are looking for Ardex grouts and screeds, Weber or Mapei mortars, adhesives and sealers, Schlüter’s Ditra-Heat-E decoupling membrane with built in underfloor heating or Kerdi-Board, Flex power tools, or any of the other products on special offer for the opening, make your way to the new depot on the Kent side of the Dartford Crossing.

You can check out the range of tools and consumables for stone processors and fixers offered by Apex Grange on the company’s website (apexgrange.com), where you will also find details of the products that will be on special offer on 21 March for the opening day only.

With the new 500m² depot come two new salesmen recruited to expand Apex Grange’s business on the eastern side of London, including Essex and the South East. There are also three new delivery vehicles, including a 14tonner, to deliver the Apex Grange promise of next day (or even same day) delivery on most of its range.

If you want to visit the depot to collect the products yourself, the trade counter will be open from 8am to 5pm Monday to Thursday and 8am to 4pm on Fridays, although that could be extended if customers demand it – the Apex Grange depot in Welwyn Garden City opens 7am-6pm, for example.

Gary Bass, the Managing Director of Apex Grange, says he had always intended to open a depot to the east of London and the gap left by the demise of a competitor in the region prompted him to bring his plans forward – especially as Apex Grange has seen five years of continual growth to facilitate the move.

Being a regular exhibitor at the Natural Stone Show at ExCeL London has helped that growth, says Gary, and he plans to be back at the Show in 2015.

The new depot is in a smart new unit on the Cross Ways Business Park that you can see from the top of the Queen Elizabeth Bridge at Dartford.

Although Apex Grange is aiming to attract more customers from the East and South East with its new depot, it supplies nationwide and the easy access to the M25 and the country’s motorway network from Dartford makes the new depot ideally situated.

Apex Grange aims to offer everything for tilers and stone fixers apart from the stone itself. The new depot has enabled the company to expand its range still further and hold more in stock – and if it does not have any products you particularly need, just mention it and they will be ordered for you.

Apex Grange is celebrating its 21^st anniversary this year. Gary Bass, who established the company with his brother John, says : “We have seen two recessions in that time and have come out of both stronger than we went into them. Recessions remove some competitors while others cut back, which creates openings for those who can go out and take advantage of them.”

One of the openings Apex Grange has benefited from is Transport for London’s Crossrail project that will link Maidenhead and Heathrow in the west to Shenfield and Abbey Wood in the east. It is using a lot of the Ardex A38 screed that can have tiles laid on it after just four hours and Apex Grange is supplying it.

Apex Grange is very much a family business. Gary Bass’s nephew, Andy Bass, becomes the new manager at Dartford. Gary’s brother, John Bass, is the Financial Director and Gary’s son-in-law, Lee Hough, is now the Manager at Welwyn.

Neil Carter, who been at Apex Grange for many years, also moves into the new depot, from where he will oversee the expanded salesforce.

The trade counter at Dartford is an innovation for Apex Grange. The company’s idea initially was to supply products from its warehouse in Welwyn Garden City bought from its website, salesmen and catalogues, but as customers have become familiar with Apex Grange, more of them have wanted to visit. So at Dartford, customers are invited to call in and the plan is to add a similar trade counter in Welwyn Garden City.