With over 40 years of history in the industry, EJ has grown to become a leading manufacturer and supplier of access covers and drainage gratings in the UK.

A global enterprise spanning five continents, EJ advocate innovation, quality and a commitment to customer service, that reflects in the partnerships with supply chain partners.

Being regarded by customers as more than a materials distributor is at the heart of the Jewson Civils Frazer purpose. Yet, this single objective is reliant on the strong partnerships the business has established with leading supply chain partners. Nick Boyle, Jewson Civils Frazer sales director, Paul Smith, EJ managing director and EJ’s head of business development, Andrew Collins, discuss how the partnership between these two businesses brings real, commercial advantages to customers across the UK.

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“Our partnership with Jewson Civils Frazer goes way back to a time when EJ operated under different ownership and a different name (Peter Savage Limited) and we traded with just the Jewson business,” explains Paul Smith. “In 2006, we became a key supplier for all Jewson’s access covers and although our respective businesses have evolved under different leadership, the culture of both organisations has stayed completely aligned which today, underpins the strength of our relationship in the UK and at a European level.”

Nick Boyle comments: “Paul makes a really interesting point about the cultural-fit of our businesses. There’s no question we continue to go through the most challenging period of our lives. It’s because of the strength of our relationship with firms, such as EJ, that we have been able to support our customers in the way we do. Two businesses completely aligned with the determination to keep the customer at the centre of our decision making. There’s certainly been no greater test of a supply chain partnership.”

"We are two businesses completely aligned with the determination to keep the customer at the centre of our decision making. There’s certainly been no greater test of a supply chain partnership."

Nick Boyle, Jewson Civils Frazer sales director

The power of the EJ and Jewson Civils Frazer partnership is far-reaching, with new product development (NPD), and breadth of range firmly at the forefront of the relationship. A point Paul is keen to expand on. “Arguably EJ has the widest range of access solutions globally and, as our relationship with the Jewson Civils Frazer team has evolved, so has our scope to offer unrivalled and sometimes unique solutions, in line with market demands. At one end of the spectrum, we are working with the branch network to bring a vast range of products to customers – all with the same technical and product performance guarantee customers have come to expect. And at the other end of our service offer, we are working closely with the team to develop bespoke solutions for a wide range of projects. We have significantly grown our NPD capability in the UK in the last few years, and now with access to EJ’s global technical strength we have solutions for almost any application, however challenging.”

Nick Boyle adds: “The EJ business has grown significantly under global ownership but the culture of the business remains firmly rooted in meeting the needs of customers. As we evolve our own position in the materials distribution industry we are working closely with Paul and the EJ team to develop an even wider range of products through our branch network.”

Further expanding on this point, Andrew Collins adds these thoughts: “It’s not uncommon for us to be working with Jewson Civils Frazer throughout an entire project delivering sustainable solutions, and bringing real value to the customer with our ability to provide standard and special solutions side by side. The benefit to the customer of this single source supply is that we’re able to evaluate the complete project and identify opportunities to value-engineer solutions. When Nick talks about being more than a materials distributor, he’s absolutely right. The very essence of our partnership is rooted in the mutual desire to help customers maximise cost and engineering efficiencies at every stage in the project. The only way of achieving that goal is by bringing an intelligent solution.”