Cladding Warehouse

In 2013, Claddingwarehouse.co.uk became the first UK website to specialise exclusively in selling PVC hygienic wall cladding sheets and all the related products needed to complete a cladding project.

Cladding Warehouse grouped together a full range of hygienic cladding products to create the first ‘one stop shop’ for trade installers. It also created a website where DIY customers could understand cladding products, order them over the phone and receive accurate, practical advice.

Our simplified product range, individually priced products and expert advice set us a long way ahead of other PVC cladding sellers in 2013. Their websites focused on the technical aspects of PVC cladding and had no visible pricing, or had pricing structures that were hard to find and understand.

Our founding directors, who are still in post at Cladding Warehouse, have decades of plastics and cladding installation expertise. We aimed to revolutionise the PVC cladding industry by creating a visually simple website which demystified hygienic cladding and made it easy to order.

Generation 1 website

Our ‘first generation’ website had individually priced products which could be ordered separately, or in a batch of products, and delivered direct to site, or collected from our warehouse.

We featured around 200 individually priced products – including PVC wall cladding sheets, PVC joint trims, adhesives, sealants and tools (including mixer paddles, saws, tapes and blades).

From Day One we offered our customers expert guidance by phone or email on (i) product suitability, (ii) quantities needed, and (iii) installation methods. These are still the three most important areas we advise customers on every day.

Introducing Vlad the Clad

Vlad the Clad is a unique and eye-catching feature of our website. We positioned Vlad as the guru of hygienic cladding and our first website featured an ‘Ask Vlad’ phone line where customers could call for advice. Vlad (full name; Vladislav Maximilian Claditova) is a combination of all the cladding knowledge we have under one roof. This includes a detailed understanding of every type of environment where hygienic cladding can be safely installed.

A key aim of our first website was to make cladding interesting, fun and accessible. These were three characteristics which were definitely absent from other hygienic cladding websites which could be described as technical, dull and lacking a ‘user friendly’ structure.

We experienced rapid growth from 2013 to 2017, developing our brand and the Operations and Delivery side of our business to ensure there was no drop-off in the quality of service as we expanded.

Generation 2 website

In 2018 we upgraded to a ‘second generation’ website which accepted online orders for the first time. At this point, Cladding Warehouse became a fully operational 24-hour e-commerce website which functioned on mobile phones and tablets, as well as desktop PCs and laptops.

The Cladding Warehouse team adapted to the functionality of the new backroom and customers were able to place cladding orders online and post direct questions to Ask Vlad online.

This huge step forward in technology and our increased online visibility spawned a group of copycat rival sites who literally used the same website structure and formats as us. Sometimes they even used the same words and design!

The increased competition has helped to grow the market for hygienic cladding, which is undoubtedly the most cost-effective way to create and maintain a new hygienic environment in areas where walls and ceilings were previously harbouring harmful bacteria.

Cladding Warehouse continues to offer the lowest prices in the UK and we are achieving healthy year-on-year growth.

Generation 3 website

In February 2022, we upgraded our website again. Our ‘third generation’ website is powered by Shopify and offers a smoother interface with customers and the apps we use in the background. The transition was not without its technical challenges, but we have continued to grow the business while keeping up with the changing demands of Google and the other tech giants – including those who provide payment and accounting systems.

We introduced LiveChat to the Cladding Warehouse website in July 2022 and this has really helped us to maintain our focus on excellent customer service. LiveChat is open during office hours and it is operated by our friendly staff who respond directly to each enquiry.

Unlike some websites, we do not filter messages through a robot which directs people down a dead end of FAQ links. Our focus on listening to the customer and answering both technical and everyday enquiries (about deliveries and invoicing etc.) takes us back to our early success in growing the business. We have earned the trust of customers who value our low prices, straightforward advice and reliable delivery.

Advice

Installing cladding can be challenging. Different environments require different cladding systems and installation methods. This can make calculating quantities of materials very difficult, even for experienced fitters, architects and specifiers.

When technical advice is needed, we provide it. When it isn’t, we try to make the ordering and delivery process as smooth and professional as possible. We have our own fleet of delivery drivers who are experienced in handling PVC cladding orders and we also use couriers when it is feasible, or a preferred option.

We regularly receive 5-Star Reviews from Cladding Warehouse customers. Many of the reviews praise the friendliness and professionalism of our office team and also our drivers, who often help customers with unloading when required.

Since 2021 we have built up over 100 genuine Google Reviews with a 4.8 average rating and over 200 additional reviews on other platforms including Facebook and Reviews.io. Every month we have a prize draw for those who have left a Cladding Warehouse review and we publish the winners on our website. We use random name-picker software and do not hand pick the positive reviews.

Quality

Cladding Warehouse only supplies high quality, trade grade products that are proven in industrial and commercial installations. We do not sell inferior grade PVC hygienic cladding, or any products that are not fit for purpose.

Altro Whiterock is the market leading manufacturer of PVC Cladding worldwide, but we do not sell Altro products. We offer PVC products with the same performance Guarantees as Whiterock and we help our customers to save money when they buy similar, premium quality PVC products from us for lower prices.

We deliver nationwide and directly to site if needed, including central London and Greater London.
Our dedicated team successfully fulfil many thousands of cladding orders every year to the UK’s biggest corporations, thriving small businesses and to individuals.

We know our hygienic cladding products inside out and we can tell customers all about:

• the best products for the project (i.e. restaurant, food factory, hospital, supermarket, food outlet, energy plant, office, leisure centre, hotel kitchen, canteen, school, farm, kennels, gym, shower rooms, WCs, corridors, garage, garden shed, camper van etc)
• the most cost-effective systems and the comparative performance of different products
• the best installation methods
• the complete package of trims and products needed to complete a professional job.
•
Cladding Warehouse only supplies trade-proven products and we can meet any architectural or construction specifications required for large-scale interior refurbishment projects. We can also do special deals and discounts on large orders.

Our product range includes:

• A full range of UV-resistant, non-fade colourfast PVC cladding sheets in a range of colours including subtle pastels, a variety of blues, greens and greys and vibrant colours from yellow and pink, to purple and black.
• Stainless steel sheets for use in commercial kitchens
• A range of decorative bathroom cladding options and trims.
• Adhesives – a professional range of proven PVC bonding options which will effectively adhere the cladding sheets to suitably prepared substrates.
• Colour matched sealants and weld rod
• Tools – including a PVC Saw, a Stirrer Paddle and a Trowel (for spreading the adhesive on the back of cladding sheets).
• Pallet Bundle Offers – we regularly offer discounted palletised bundles featuring a fixed number of PVC sheets plus all the trims and adhesives needed to complete the installation.

Building on success

In March 2023 Cladding Warehouse celebrated 10 years of trading. Since the beginning, we have led the way in which hygienic cladding and wall lining products are presented and supplied to the trade and the public.

We continue to introduce product and service innovations which allow our customers to buy with confidence from Cladding Warehouse and we are committed to further growth and expansion in our second decade.