Everything You Need to Know About the UK’s Top 4 Wood Coatings Suppliers
Whether you are an industrial paint shop, commercial joinery firm or an independent joiner, finding a company that can meet all your supply needs can be a difficult task. This article gives the lowdown on the UK’s top four wood coatings suppliers — Symphony Coatings, Movac, Ultrimax Coatings and Morrells — to help you make the right decision for your business.
In a hurry? Here’s a quick-reference comparison chart of the UK’s leading suppliers:
| Symphony | Movac | Ultrimax | Morrells | |
| UK Branches | 9-UK Wide | 7-Mainly E Anglia | Doncaster | 28-UK |
| UK - Owned Company |
 Yes
|
Yes | Yes | UK Manufacturing / American Owned |
| Online shop | No | No | Yes | No |
| Wood coating brands stocked: | Osmo
Renner Rubio Monocoat Sherwin Williams Sikkens |
Irurena PPG Sayerlack |
Euro Fire Own brand(s) Ultrimax Sayerlack |
Own brand(s)
ICA |
|
Other joinery product lines:
Consumables; PPE; equipment, plant & supplies |
Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Next-Day Delivery | Yes |
Yes Same Day Delivery for orders placed before 9.30am |
Yes | Yes |
| Symphony | Movac | Ultrimax | Morrells | |
| Product descriptions on website | No | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Technical & Safety Datasheets Online | No | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| On-site colour mixing & Matching | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Paint Shop Support Services: | ||||
| - Legislative advice & support | No | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| -Online support resources | No | Yes | Yes-Extensive | Yes-Limited |
| -Spray shop audits & reports | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| -Site surveys | No | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| -Technical consultation & training | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
The UK’s top 4 wood coatings suppliers in detail
First Up - Symphony Coatings
Established in the early 1990s, Symphony Coatings is an independent distributor of industrial and decorative coatings, primarily for joinery, furniture, marine, glass and metal. It’s a national company that prides itself on supplying local industry with competitively priced professional products, fast delivery, and in-person support services.
Branch locations
Symphony has nine branches that provide good coverage across England. The company does not currently have a presence in Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland or the Republic of Ireland and it does not own all of its branches.
Online shopping and resources
Symphony does not currently sell its products online or provide website resources such as product descriptions, technical and safety datasheets or technical advice and support materials.
Product lines
Symphony stocks an extensive range of professional wood coatings, from maintenance coatings to full factory finishes. Product lines include stains, lacquers and oils manufactured by names such as Renner, Sherwin Williams, Osmo and Rubio Monocoat.
The company also sells:
- Spray equipment, PPE, consumables and sundries
- Fire retardants
- Metal and glass coatings
- Deorative and narrowboat paints.
Paint shop support
The technical team at Symphony offer a good selection of professional support services, including:
- Colour-matching
- Waste collection
- VOC reports
- Spray shop audits
- Spray booth and airflow reports
- Technical consultation.
Movac
Movac Group Limited is a family owned firm that began life as a general household paint shop in Southend in 1951. In 1953 it tapped into the automotive finishing market and has grown to be a strong supplier in this sector. Movac introduced a division for wood finishing products in 1985, and for industrial coatings in 2006.
Branch locations
Movac has seven branches, most of which are in East Anglia. The company does not currently have a presence in Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland or the Republic of Ireland.
Online shopping and resources
Movac does not currently sell its products online, but product brochures are available on the website, as well as a modest library of information videos.
Product lines
Movac distributes a wide range of high-technology products manufactured by brands such as Sayerlack, PPG and Irurena. It does not manufacture own-brand products.
In addition to Wood Finishing coatings, Movac also stocks:
- Spray equipment, PPE, consumables and sundries
- Fire retardants
- Automotive finishes
- Industrial coatings.
Paint shop support
Movac is proud of its ability to respond to and support the ever-changing needs of its client-base. As such, it offers a comprehensive list of services, including:
- Free, regular, daily delivery service to businesses within its trading area
- Regular technical support calls
- Full application system planning advice
- Spray shop and extraction planning
- Legislative compliance advice and support
- Waste management facilities
- Colour-matching.
- 2 dedicated training centres and a dedicated Technical & Training team to support their customer base
Ultrimax
Family owned, Ultrimax was born in 1973 in Donald Hoare’s home garage in Doncaster. Today, the company primarily manufactures and supplies paint coatings to customers in a range of specialised sectors, including joinery, rail, plant, marine and steel fabrication. It has a strong focus on delivering quality paint, spray equipment and technical support packages.
Branch locations
Ultrimax runs its manufacturing operations, warehouse, trade counter, online shop and total paint shop support services out of its premises in Doncaster which is situated centrally in the UK to serve the whole country. The company’s decision to use the single-facility model is based on its commitment to providing unrivalled customer care while minimising its carbon footprint. With no need for inter-branch movement of goods, stock control is efficient (and high), allowing Ultrimax to offer its customers same-day despatch to anywhere in the UK on orders made before 2pm.
Online shopping and resources
In 2014, Ultrimax set up an online shop and ordering portal to make it even easier for customers to buy products, manage their services and access advice and support, regardless of their location. The website also has an extensive Help and Advice page where you will find:
- Knowledge centre - how-to articles, industry insights, product comparisons and more.
- Training videos - product guides, troubleshooting and best practice techniques for technicians.
- Download centre - technical and safety datasheets.
- Virtual paint shop environment - walk around an ideal paint shop setup, complete with recommended products and training to consider at the crucial phases of Preparation, Paint and Post Paint.
Product lines
Ultrimax stocks in excess of 20,000 products, which includes coatings, spray equipment, PPE, tools, consumables and sundries that are largely geared towards joinery, plant and machinery, steel fabrication, rail and engineering. Its wood coatings range includes:
- Acid-catalysed and pre-catalysed coating (Ultrimax own-brand)
- Acrylic coatings (Sayerlack)
- Exterior joinery coatings (Sayerlack)
- Fire-retardant paints for wood (Sayerlack and Euro Fire)
- Polyester coatings (Sayerlack)
- Polyurethane coatings (Sayerlack)
- Water-based coatings (Ultrimax own-brand and Sayerlack)
- Wood stains (Ultrimax own-brand, and Sayerlack)
Paint shop support
Ultrimax is big on customer support and offers a full-service approach, which includes:
- Free site survey - to analyse your core business and calculate if you are using the best-fit paint systems and spray equipment for optimal production time and cost savings
- Colour-matching service
- VOC reports on all orders, with optional quarterly reporting
- Spray booth and airflow reports
- HSE advice and support
- Spray shop audits
- Servicing
- Paint training
- Technical consultation
Most of these support services are provided free of charge where possible.
Morrells
Morrells started out in 1902 as a small London-based manufacturer of wood finishing oils and waxes. The company now produces high performance wood coatings and finishes for an international market, and is owned by the large American multinational, RPM International Inc.
Branch locations
Morrells has good coverage across the UK and the Republic of Ireland, with small local branches that hold a limited amount of own-brand stock.
Online shopping and resources
Morrells does not currently sell its products online. You can view product descriptions and technical and safety datasheets on the website, and there are a few technical advice and support pages.
Product lines
You will only find own-brand coatings, finishes and spray shop supplies at a Morrells store. Their current ranges are:
- xerofire® intumescent fire-retardant system
- casolac® - acid-catalyst lacquers
- omnia® - exterior joinery coating system
- induro® - flooring lacquers
- holzol® - wood oils
- Medicote® - antimicrobial furniture lacquers
- VLi® - solvent-based polyurethane lacquers
- Sprayshop® - spray equipment, PPE, consumables and sundries.
As a specialist manufacturer of pre-catalyst and acid-catalyst coatings, Morrells is less well-known for water-based wood solutions.
Paint shop support
The Morrells website states that the company has a “dedicated team of experienced technicians to support customers in all aspects of technical back-up and after-sales service”. This back-up support is free of charge and includes:
- Product demonstrations and trials
- Colour-matching
- Bespoke product development
- Site training
- Technical information
- Problem solving
- EPA and VOC emissions advice and support
Round-up
Which specialist wood coatings supplier is best suited to your business? Here’s a quick round-up.
|
Company: |
Best for: |
|
Symphony Coatings |
Businesses that:
|
|
Movac |
Businesses that:
|
|
Ultrimax Coatings |
Businesses that:
|
|
Morrells |
Businesses that:
|
Get Expert Support
Need more information before buying a booth? Our Total Paint Shop Support Team can help you with any enquiry.
Call: 01302 856666
Email: sales@ultrimaxcoatings.co.uk
YouTube: Need advice but like watching short videos? Check out our YouTube Help Channel.