It’s been another busy month here at Smith of Derby! We’ve had three new team members join us, completed some fantastic projects and had some special visitors in our works…
New Team Members
Recently graduated from the University of Derby, Rachel Broughton and Daniel Marshall have joined our commercial team. They are both enjoying a job share arrangement as they continue to follow their master’s degrees in business management in the coming year.
Right to Left: Rachel Broughton, Daniel Marshall and Kelvyn Thorpe.
Kelvyn Thorp has joined our clockmaking team. Based out of Maidstone, in Kent, we are delighted to boost our coverage in the South of the UK, as Kelvyn brings many years of engineering know-how to the team.
Team Accomplishments
Clockmaker Craig Park has recently completed his latest IRATA training course, meaning that he can continue his fine work using the rope access equipment across Scotland and the North of England!
Customer Feedback
Eggbuckland Clock.
Sometimes our customers love to be ‘hands-on’ and where we can, our team go the extra mile to accommodate, safely, this enthusiasm. A recent customer wrote in to say…
“I met with Paul on Thursday and we have rebuilt the clock. Thank you for your patience in allowing me to refurb this historical piece of machinery. I have thoroughly enjoyed the project and learnt a lot along the way. Paul has been a great help, with his encouragement and guidance, always polite and professional, he is an asset to your company. Best Regards, Martin”
The Eggbuckland clock before and after the overhaul project.
Kirk Michael Church
“Your service staff are always excellent in making contact even while ‘on the road’ and maybe delayed elsewhere. However hard you plan in advance of a visit, the logical order can often be changed by no fault of theirs – but, to their credit, they remain cheerful, and are a credit to the company. Kind regards, Steve”
Local Community
As a company dedicated to our local community and wider industry relations, we find the time to open our doors to visitors. Gabbi is a local 6th former at Littleover School and her mum called to ask if she could take clockwork photographs for a school project. Her mum, who works in education, was blown away by what we do!
“I just wanted to thank you so much for arranging for Gabbi to come in and take some photos. We both found the experience fascinating and were so impressed by everything you do. Please also extend a big thank you to James for taking the time to show us around. Kind regards, Louise”
‘Company Cap’ Continues its Tour
Once again, the ‘company cap’ has been out and about at various locations across the world! Clockmaker Mike took his to a Mountain Bike centre in Wales!
Clockmaker Mike wearing the cap in Wales.
Spot the Clockmaker
Can you spot our clockmaker in the picture below?
Can you spot our clockmaker in this photo?
Factory Visitors
Earlier in this edition we have mentioned the fact that we open our doors on a regular basis to community and industry partners. Rolls Royce Owners Club and the Sir Richard Arkwright Mills Society have been in the Works in the past few weeks. The Rolls Royce Owners Club voted the visit to the Smith of Derby works as the highlight of their summer UK tour!
The Rolls Royce visit.
We also received this very kind feedback from the Sir Richard Arkwright Mills Society:
“I’d like to say a big thank you to you and everyone involved in our visit last Friday! The words “fantastic”, “exceptional” and “brilliant” have been used to describe the talk and tour. One of our tour guides was there and was most impressed with how you personalised your talk.
Our thanks for a wonderful morning. Kind Regards, Jane Paw – Sir Richard Arkwright’s Cromford Mills”