UK Vending

Founded in 1969 by John Button, UK Vending Ltd proudly remains a family owned and managed business. From the humble beginnings of a business run from home some forty years ago, today UK Vending Ltd occupies its own purpose built, prestigious premises between Rochester and Maidstone in Kent. Overlooking the M2 motorway it is perfectly placed for its national distribution to customers as widely spread as the Scilly Isles to the Shetlands. Mars Drinks UK Ltd recognised in 2007 a unique commitment to its products by UK Vending. For 26 years UK Vending has uniquely refused all offers to include hot drinks products from other suppliers. Why? Because it firmly believes that the Mars 'Flavia' and 'KLIX' ranges offer the very best value for money, the finest products and by far, the most reliable. That faith, founded on 26 years of detailed history, was recognised by a ceremony of recognition and the award of the prestigious Platinum Distributor badge from Mars Drinks UK Ltd. Martin Button, son of John, came into his fathers business in 1985 from an IT development background. In 1995 UK Vending became the first vending company in Britain to have its own website. Since then, UK Vending has stayed streets ahead of other vending companies with its ongoing and imaginative use of IT in general and the internet in particular - to the benefit of its customers who, from anywhere in the world and at any time, can check up on almost every aspect of their UK Vending ordering and accounts. In 1995, Martin also expanded the business into the supply of water. Point of use plumbed in water machines are now taking over from the bottled water supply but UK vending Ltd remains a massive supplier of water and POUs throughout London and the south-east and its expansion in the national water market over the next few years is likely to be considerable. UK Vending continues to expand its range of responsibly sourced products. It takes great pride in the care of the environment it practises throughout the business. Its care of the environment is perhaps only rivalled by its investment in its staff. Corporate Social Responsibility became a buzz-line in business some ten or so years ago but UK Vending was practising CSR back in the days when it would have been called "being a great employer" or "being a good neighbour". Old fashioned family values and a commitment to service means that UK Vending enjoys the patronage of customers that have been with us for 35 years. Why would they do that? Perhaps because, like our loyalty to Mars products, if you cannot find better, no matter how much you try, you have to stay with the best there is. John Button famously commented at a corporate event, "We are now the leading vending company in the UK", and the success of our business is down to the easy hassle free delivery, installation, maintenance and after sales service we provide. With everything else that could be said about our business maybe Johns summary is the most apposite because it does not describe us, it describes far more importantly, what we offer our customers: a reliable, hassle free service. WHY HAVE SOME OF OUR CUSTOMERS STAYED LOYAL TO UK VENDING LTD FOR OVER 35 YEARS? COULD THE FORMULA FOR OUR SUCCESS BE OUR STAFF? One of the first significant businesses in Kent to receive this award, UK Vending Ltd accepted the Investor in People badge as appropriate recognition for forty years of investing in the greatest asset of this or any company: the people who work within it. A business can only ever be as good as its staff. Each facet of the business is manifested by the people that work within it and the experience of our customers will always be based upon their interaction with our staff. Consequently, for forty years we have built our business upon the strengths of the people that work with us and we have invested in ongoing training to add to those strengths. Corporate Social Responsibility for UK Vending is not limited to what we do outside of the business; it also means investing in our people. They each repay our commitment to them by their commitment to our customers. As a snapshot: in 2008 we invested in the training of two apprentice engineers; we paid for junior staff driving lessons; we instituted a lengthy programme of management skills training for our young managers; senior management went back to school to increase their knowledge base; twelve new NVQs were begun; across the board a variety of new IT skills were formally taught to match our investment in big-ticket software. Most importantly, all our staff continued their customer care development programme ensuring that just as some of our customers have remained loyal to us for 35 years and many for more than 20, our new customers will also enjoy and appreciate the experience of working with UK Vending Ltd and its most excellent workforce.