The 'Big Book' and other stories
October 1st 2008 With the aim of opening a store within a 20 minute drive of every industrial conurbation in the UK, safety equipment supplier ARCO's ambitions are far from modest. So how has this family business and one-time supplier of protective gloves to the fishing industry come to make such big waves in the health and safety market? Georgina Bisby speaks to joint MD Thomas Martin to find out more
Most readers will probably be familiar with ARCO for its Big Book, an annual catalogue of health and safety products launched in the autumn. Though each year the book is deemed to be bigger and better, this year its contents reflect a period of significant development for the company.
A family affair
It was at the Doncaster leg of this year's ARCO Experience - ARCO's annual series of shows that I caught up with Thomas. It would be fair to say the ARCO experience of 2008 was probably a far cry from the experiences of Thomas's uncle and father. Though ARCO was founded in 1884 by Thomas's great grandfather, it was this duo who launched ARCO's safety division in the sixties, when they went from operating a rubber and plastics distributors in Hull, to providing fishing fleets with consumables.
ARCO didn't become a specialist health and safety supplier overnight but the significance of The Factories Act of 1961 made health and safety an obvious market for the company to focus on: "It is only in the past 40 years that we have really majored on health and safety though," explains Thomas. "We went from one to 22 stores in forty years then added 16 in the past four. Now we are aiming to open a store within twenty minutes of every industrial conurbation in the UK."
ARCO's massive store expansion may seem questionable at a time when the company's fastest growing ordering channel is the internet, but it reflects ARCO'S belief that easier access to advice as well as products is essential for the health and safety professional. This was reflected by the company's decision to team up with The British Safety Council and others this year to provide training services alongside its traditional product offering.
As well as a hefty shakeup of its infrastructure, including the move to a national distribution centre, ARCO also recently set about redefining what its business is about on a more ethical level: "It's not all about selling product," says Thomas. To this end, a few years ago Thomas sat down with his cousin and joint MD Jo with the aim of defining what ARCO is all about, and over 100 people throughout the company were invited to comment.
Leaving a legacy
An Oxford English graduate, Jo clearly had a major influence on this process and its outcomes the three core values which Thomas and Jo discovered, constitute 'ARCO's DNA': Respect for people Excellence in reputation Hard work and enterprise Sadly Jo passed away earlier this year and it is evident that her loss is still very deeply felt by Thomas and the company as a whole, but it is apparent these core values have changed ARCO in a dramatic and far reaching way.
"Through ARCO's relationship with other businesses and the community as a whole we are trying to leave a legacy," explains Thomas. "ARCO donates 1% of its profits to charity. We also give workers two extra days off a year to do charity work that is important to them and every member of ARCO has a corporate and social responsibility goal.
"Fairness, integrity and honesty are at the core of all our business relationships. With British industry manufacturing an increasing amount abroad, we have set up a business auditing system in the Far East to check factories we use comply with UK working standards. If factories don't comply then we help them to change we don't walk away."
Considering the immense amount Thomas and Jo have achieved I wonder whether Thomas ever worries about the business in the hands of future generations? Thomas explains that being a family member does not automatically land you the top job at ARCO. "It is a company policy that any family member interested in working at ARCO must work elsewhere for five years first," he explains. In fact when Thomas got his job at ARCO following a stint in advertising in London, he applied under the pseudonym of Paul Jackson. Liking the look of his CV, ARCO invited him in for an interview; I'd like to have been a fly on the wall when Thomas Martin turned up.
Making your own luck Thomas Martin on the credit crunch
Even within the current financial climate, Thomas explains ARCO is growing and he forecasts that this will continue: "We have the expertise to make our own luck and we are confident in our strategy and our focus.
We have management personnel who have been with ARCO long enough to have experienced the recessions of the 90s/80s/70s and 60s Thomas suggests the credit crunch could have a positive effect on the health and safety sector by weeding out less desirable companies: "I'm not saying small companies can't be good, we all start somewhere. Early days of selling out of car boots got us to where we are today, but it would be no bad thing to see some less scrupulous companies go under.
"The small companies servicing business from the boot of a car illustrate the fragmented nature of this marketplace but the entrepreneurial spirit here will help survival. The big players have been here before: those in the middle however will be squeezed, and any that don't add value will struggle. Unlike the banking system, the market should be left to decide." More articles from Arco Limited: | 
