10-year partnership

IFI has been a supply partner for Rapierstar fasteners for 10 years.

The Cambridgeshire based company has been supplying products to window professionals for over 25 years. From its 30,000ft2 national distribution centre in Peterborough, IFI delivers UK-wide on a next-day delivery service, using its own delivery fleet and a network of national freight carriers, and supplies the complete range of Rapierstar products.

Jason Hutchings, IFI national sales manager, said: “IFI and Rapierstar have a shared ethos that is about going the extra mile for customers and that helps to explain why we have grown strongly together over that past decade. The Rapierstar brand has certainly helped us grow fastener and fixing sales year on year for 10 years and now makes us a key distributor for the brand in the UK.

“Our mission is to support customers with all the specialist products they need to succeed in a highly competitive marketplace, which is why we are dedicated to supplying products that give our customers marketing, technical and competitive advantages, backed up by industry leading brands service and support.”

Employing 90 people and annual sales of over £20 million, IFI is now one of the largest distributors of the Rapierstar range of specialist fasteners, including its StarPVCU and StarPin products that are widely used in the fenestration sector.

It supplies around 100 million Rapierstar pieces every year to fabricators and installers, completing the link between Rapierstar’s main distribution centre in Cheshire and the factory floor or fitting teams.

Rapierstar’s technical consultant Mark Calpin said: “IFI continues to go from strength to strength because they invest time and resources in making sure they give window and door manufacturers and installers a superior quality range of hardware across the board, of which fasteners are a crucial element.”