IESA celebrates 110 years at the cutting edge
Warrington-based Integrated Engineering Stores Associates
(IESA) celebrates 110 years of successful service this month with
the announcement of two new contracts secured with blue chip clients.
Part of the Caldwells Group, IESA is the UK’s most innovative
provider in the supply of engineering stores management for clients
in the manufacturing sector. IESA is this month pleased to announce
contract wins to supply stores management solutions to vehicle component
manufacturer Visteon and Eli Lilly worth a combined £27 million
over the next three years.
 The
company was recently named Business of the Year as well as being
awarded for its Innovation and Research at the Warrington Business
Awards.
IESA was founded by Peter Caldwell and like today, it was its technological
edge, which made it stand out from the competition. After reading
about Alexander Bell’s most recent invention, Peter was convinced
he had found a way of not only improving service, but revolutionising
it forever. He purchased a twelve line telephone system, brought
it back to Britain and promptly installed it at his offices and
those of his major customers, all within nine months of the patent
being issued. Transactions, which had previously taken days to carry
out could now be completed in a matter of minutes by simply picking
up the telephone.
The company’s commitment to customer service is evident in
the fact that some of IESA’s current customers – including
household names such as Pilkington and Lever – have been trading
with Caldwells throughout its 110 year history. The needs of these
customers have changed dramatically over time, but Caldwells and
IESA have never failed to deliver the quality of service that they
have come to expect.
 With
its origins in the manufacture of tools and engineering supplies,
IESA’s current portfolio ranges from state-of-the-art automated
tool dispensers to online store management solutions. The company’s
client list continues to grow and includes multinational organisations
as Pilkington, Siemens, ConvaTec, Rhodia and Honeywell. In the last
five years alone, IESA has doubled in size to a turnover of £15
million whilst adding £55 million to the value of the inventory
it manages for its clients.
In 1893, Peter Caldwell launched his company on the promise of
‘high quality products at competitive prices’. IESA
no longer manufactures engineering products, but maintains the same
promise through reducing clients’ inventory costs, streamlining
procurement and order processes, introducing advanced stock control
and invoice management techniques and establishing online solutions.
 IESA provides each client with a bespoke solution to meet individual
requirements, however, the results are very similar. Ask Siemens
Power Generation, where IESA recently achieved a 15 percent saving
in unit costs, a 40 percent reduction in suppliers and a reduction
from more than 1,000 monthly supplier invoices to just one. Ask
ConvaTec, a world leading manufacturer of wound and skin care products,
where IESA has taken total responsibility for stock procurement
and eliminated the administrative burden of more than 25,000 issues,
receipts and invoices as well as introducing a fully integrated
online ordering system. Ask any of IESA’s clients and they
will tell you that IESA has delivered real business benefits, and
delivered on its promise.
IESA Chief Executive Ben Caldwell said: “Over 110 years ago,
my great grandfather had the vision to utilise the latest technologies
and I hope that he would be proud to know that we continue to adopt
the same philosophy in the business today.”
From the site where great grandfather Peter Caldwell and his sons
Edmund and Peter Jr established their business 110 years ago, Ben
Caldwell’s IESA today offers modern solutions to modern business
problems. And while the 21st Century business bears little resemblance
to that of its founding industry in their time both can justifiably
claim to have been at the cutting edge.
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