MOST readers of this magazine will not need convincing of the attractions of the air conditioning and refrigeration market, so few will be surprised to learn that other businesses in unrelated industries have picked up on the benefits.
When four guys, steeped in the experience of working for engineers’ merchants, decided to start their own business, they would little have realised how soon their tools and fasteners supply business would transform into an air conditioning distributor.

The company, TF Solutions, set up in 2000 as Tools & Fasteners, came to appreciate the benefits of the air conditioning market just six months into trading when it started to trade with an air conditioning customer.

“We knew nothing of this market when we started, but after a few months we could see that air conditioning was the way to go,” admitted TF director Derek McMaster, “Now we have very few customers who aren’t air conditioning, refrigeration or ductwork related.”

In fact, 80-90% of its customer base are now in the air conditioning and/or refrigeration markets.

“The make up of the air conditioning customer is different,” said fellow director David Brown, “and the ac market is more refined than fasteners.”

There are some differences however that TF Solution’s experience as an engineers’ merchant can bring to the advantage of the ac market. “While the processes are the same, one thing you had to do in the fasteners market is deliver,” said David Brown. “It is very demanding.”

It is this attention to customer care and reliability that the company is now bringing to the acr market.

To this end the company offers a UK-wide next-day delivery, completely free-of-charge, with no minimum order. The branches can also open at 7am to catch the early risers.

“We’ll always be lead by our customers’ needs,” said Derek McMaster. During busy periods this can mean staying open until 9pm at night. Having built up the business from through the fittings market, TF stocks a wide range of products needed by the busy ac installer. This includes threaded rods, strut, cables and trays and has in recent times been extended to include such items as insulation, condensate pumps and copper tube. Copper tube alone brought in sales of £1.5m last year.

More recently, the company has started to stock a small quantity of Hitachi air conditioning units. “We looked at units the back end of last year,” said David Brown. “It’s just a toe in the water at the moment,” he added.

Being a member of the European buying group EDE, enables TF to maintain its competitiveness in the market and stock in depth at its Stockport and Burton-on-Trent branches. From this, TF Solutions to fulfil 98% of a contractor’s shopping list.

TF Solutions 08708 505805