About Us

Dear Customer,

We are thrilled to be able to offer a comprehensive part of our services on the internet. I am delighted to be able to say that the standards that we set, as the rock of our foundation over five decades ago, remain unaltered as we continue into the twenty first century.

You, our customers, are always right.
If we cannot provide exactly what you require, we will help direct you to someone who can.
We aim to give the utmost effort, regardless of whether you buy one or one hundred items.
We are proud of our efficiency, but never underestimate the value of the human touch.

We welcome you to our web site and look forward to serving you. DAVE DENNISON BEM .DL Chairman – Directa UK davidd@directa.co.uk

Experienced Since 1971 Directa (UK) Ltd has supplied businesses with essentials for industry from all sectors with its Tapes, Signs, Abrasives and Adhesives.

We now have a range of over 15,000 lines available for you to buy online or over the phone and receive rapid delivery from our large stockholding.

Quality Products, Reliable Service

We are proud to be stockists of leading brands such as 3M , Velcro, Tork paper products and Duracell Industrial Batteries. Additionally we have developed our own branded products which are now well established in the industrial market for their quality and reliability. These include Deemark safety marking products, Sparks pvc tape, Performance Gaffer Tape, Parseal Packaging Tapes and Shrink Wraps. All these are stocked in significant depth to support rapid delivery.

Secure: Ordering online is fully secure as we use the well established payment service provider Barclaycard to handle all credit card transactions, if online ordering is not for you www.directa.co.uk is backed up by a telephone based team who always aim to give fast friendly service, simply call 01621 828882 during normal working hours.

Environmental Policy Statement: You can view the policy statement here.

Directa have been accredited with ISO 9001 for a number of years now. Our certificate is available for you to download and view. ISO 9001:2015 Certificate

What our Online Customers have experienced

Excellent Service

“Many thanks for the excellent service – my lightbulbs arrived yesterday wonderfully packaged. Very much appreciated. Your site is, of course, bookmarked for future orders.”

Dave

Great Service

“Many thanks for your service. I received my order first class post within a day. The price was good and this service is excellent. I will certainly be recommending you to my network of crafting friends who all use the product I bought.”

Jo Pritchard

Great Support

“I emailed your customer service and you came to the rescue with friendly advice and ‘no pressure to buy’ suggestions as to what would be best. He made me so confident in your company that I shall certainly be returning to buy more products online. You are a fantastic, reliable company who can provide small/domestic quantities of items at a very reasonable price with free P&P. Your customer service was outstanding. Friendly. not pushy, and extremely efficient.”

Tricia Thorburn, Crafts Enthusiast

After Sales

“Thanks. Order here and they are perfect. Thanks for your help. Will mention your site to some friends looking for a similar product. Am very impressed by your level of service.”

Rolf von Pfefer

Super Service

“I am so pleased to have found your website. Last year I purchased a roll of Velcro Plant Ties, and when I went back to the same shop this week, they said it is no longer being sold. I enquired at our local B&Q, Homebase and even our local hardware shop with the same answer. Undaunted I persevered, and am so pleased that I am able to order it. Thank you so much, and I’m also thrilled that it is the same product name I bought last year. May I just mention too, that we installed an arch in our garden some 8 or 9 years ago, and I secured the climbers with your Velcro plant ties. Do you know they have never come undone and are still securely holding the climbers.”

Yvonne Miller

The History of Directa

Directa began in 1971 in the City District of London, the company was registered as City Directa Ltd.

1971

The three founders were: (Dave) Mr. L.D. Dennison BEM .DL (Mick) Mr. M.D. Coburn (Deceased) Mick passed away in 2015 (Terry) Mr T.R Poston (Deceased) Terry passed away in 1988

The three founders having been friends since schooldays and early teens.

The main aim of the company was to be able to supply consumable materials directly to customers without the need of a retail shop or showroom. Being able to supply directly meant savings and efficiency. Our logo, a bow and arrow, was to indicate directness.

Directa’s display at the NEC

Finance House

Our first address was ‘Finance House’, an impressive office building of 5 floors that stood proudly on the corner of the Shoreditch High Street and Rivington Street EC2, opposite Shoreditch Church.

1972

To begin with we occupied just one floor of the building, but as our success grew, we were to quickly take over more floors until finally purchasing the freehold of the building in 1972.

Kingsland Warehouse

We were also to purchase our warehouse close by in Kingsland High Road. We enjoyed working in the city for ten years before deciding travel to and from our city location was proving progressively difficult.

1980

To begin with we occupied just one floor of the building, but as our success grew, we were to quickly take over more floors until finally purchasing the freehold of the building in 1972.

1980

The great improvement in communication technology enabled us to look outside of London. To the surprise of many, in 1980 we bought what appeared to be a tumbledown site in Cold Norton.

Cold Norton Warehouse 1980

We could see the potential of the acreage and the great attraction of having a happy staff, who we hoped would be able to travel home in a matter of minutes as opposed to hours.

It took a while to make the site habitable, not least by the installation of a proper sewage connection to the main drain!

1981

Site Renovation at Cold Norton

We said goodbye to Finance House and relocated to part of the Cold Norton warehouse in 1981.

1983

Cold Norton Warehouse

At that time we kept a London presence by using our former warehouse as a London sales office. This satellite system of incorporating local sales offices was to be extended to include Rochester KENT, Ipswich SUFFOLK, Leeds YORKS, and Hitchin HERTS.

Our new Head Office building was completed, ready for us to move in on the seventh of January 1983.

1988

Cold Norton Head Office 1983

Then it was time to set about reconstructing the two warehouses on site into one large facility by adding a third building in between the older constructions. This work was completed in 1988.

1996

Cold Norton Head Office 1996

The Head Office building was extended in 1996 to mainly provide expansion for our sales department.

We were to extend our offices again in 2003 by building offices above a new workshop at the bottom of the site.

2003

New Offices 2003

The lower building is a manufacturing unit and the upper floor is where the Marketing and Purchasing Departments are.

2009

New Warehouse 2009

2009 saw the completion of a new warehouse with an undercover loading bay, which connects the old building with the later workshop and offices.

Calendars

From the outset most of our everyday endeavours concerned mundane, (some would say boring), items, our philosophy remains to make life more colourful and interesting for our customers. We regularly introduce marketing and promotional ideals designed to be both interesting and amusing. This is probably best illustrated by our calendars, our first was in 1977. We began custom making our own calendars in 1993. We have built up quite a following; our motto being that we are to humour what Pirelli are to naked female flesh. We actually have customers who collect and save them!