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Ernest Doe and Sons are Dickies 2011 UK Distributor of the Year


Dickies Q 012


Hochiki Europe brews the perfect fire detection solution for InBev


Hochiki


Anheuser-Busch InBev is the world’s largest brewing company and InBev UK brews and markets some of the nation’s best known alcoholic beverages including Stella Artois, Beck’s, Budweiser, Brahma, Hoegaarden and Leffe.


UK, one of which is based at Magor in Monmouthshire, Wales. As part of an ongoing fire safety programme, InBev’s Health and Safety Manager, Antony Thomas, decided that the time was right to invest in a new fire detection system. He says, ‘Our previous system was nearly 15 years old and as well as producing a high level of unwanted alarms, it was becoming difficult to find replacement components for it.’


Ernest Does top the list of Dickies Distributor Awards for 2011


Agricultural distributors, Ernest Doe and Sons, have scooped the top award at this year’s UK Distributor of the Year awards for world-renowned workwear manufacturers, Dickies.


Last year the workwear giants instigated their first


ever Distributor Award, to run in conjunction with Dickies nationwide Worker of the Year Award - the competition which has been devised to recognise and reward excellence in the British workforce.


Leading distributors for Dickies products from around


the country – as well as the UK Worker of the Year finalists – all came together for a gala awards dinner, at Marlow’s Crowne Plaza hotel, hosted by Dickies under the guidance of TV Presenter, Quentin Willson.


Dickies presented no less than six separate Distributor Category awards as well as a special commendation and an overall Distributor of the Year. Ernest Doe & Sons picked up the award for achieving the largest increase in sales by a UK Distributor that was the fruition of a marketing campaign involving store layouts and new window displays.


Ernest Doe and Sons initially took the specialist award


for the Agriculture Industry. The fourth generation company, which sells everything from Tools to Tractors and from Gloves to Golf carts has been trading for more than a century and currently runs eighteen branches in the South and East of England. Its headquarters are in Ulting, near Maldon, in Essex.


Sophie Doe from Ernest Doe and Sons was on hand to collect the award (pictured).


“Dickies has some excellent distributors, in a various sectors, throughout the UK and we wanted to recognise their efforts,” enthuses Maurice Morton, European Sales and Marketing Director for the world-renowned workwear firm. “I want to congratulate all of those companies who took awards or commendations here tonight.”


The other Dickies distributor awards were presented to: Total Supplies and Services of Daventry for Best Industrial Distributor Spa Welding of Lancing for Best Specialist Distributor StepOutlet for Best Retailer Martin and Partners of Northampton for Best Builders’ Merchant Stuart Douglas for Best Scottish Distributor And a Highly Commended Award went to Devon’s Mole Avon Trading Ltd.


6 The company operates three breweries in the Q 014


Antony called in the services of Bristol based Advanced Fire Systems Ltd, a British Fire Consortium (BFC) member that installs fire alarm systems throughout England and Wales. After assessing the current infrastructure, the company’s Director, Peter Thomas, decided that Hochiki Europe’s range of products would fit the bill. He explains, ‘Hochiki was the perfect choice for this installation. We needed a wide variety of detectors, beacons and sounders for the job, so they acted as a one stop shop for all InBev’s requirements.’


Although the Magor site covers 60 acres, over recent years increased automation has meant that the number of employees there has reduced. With around 200 personnel now on-site and with some areas unoccupied for long periods of time, Peter wanted the reassurance of a system that had high levels of reliability and could provide immediate warning in the event of fire. He comments, ‘We have always recognised and appreciated Hochiki’s high standards of reliability and I particularly like the fact that while some other companies think that anything up to a three per cent failure rate is acceptable, Hochiki doesn’t.’


Advanced Fire Systems selected a system based around Hochiki’s Enhanced Systems Protocol (ESP). ESP is a robust total communications solution for intelligent fire detection and fully integrated systems. It has a multi-purpose structure that provides the flexibility and expansion to accommodate simple addressable systems through to sophisticated integrated building management and safety systems.


and are managed via 10 addressable panels, which can pinpoint the exact location of the detector that has been activated. The new system used the existing wiring infrastructure and every detector from the previous system had to be located and replaced, including over 100 devices installed within voids and false ceilings.


Over 500 individual fire detection products have been installed across the site


Awide variety of Hochiki products were installed including HCP-E call points, ACB-EW waterproof multi-heat sensors CHQ-WS2 base sounders, sounder controllers, mains relay output units and multi-sensors. Remarking on the speed at which Hochiki’s products can be installed, Peter says, ‘Once the base is installed installation is extremely quick, usually taking about 30 seconds compared to some other manufacturers’products which can take up to 20 minutes.’


Abrewing facility of this size and scale is a harsh environment and the enormous amount of steam being produced was having a negative impact on the previous fire detection system. Peter says, ‘For the new system we felt the most appropriate solution in some of the most affected areas was to use a combination of smoke and heat detectors. We also service the system once a month rather than quarterly to make sure that the humidity doesn’t damage the detectors and compromise their reliability.’


are a requirement for areas of high ambient noise where people have to wear ear defenders to comply with health and safety legislation. As well as VADs, combined sounders and beacons from Hochiki’s portfolio were also installed in the brewing, filtration, bottling and kegging, and warehousing areas.


The installation also utilised a number of visual alarm devices (VADs). These


Further work is scheduled to upgrade other areas of the Magor site and InBev’s Antony Thomas is delighted with the installation. He concludes, ‘This is a 24/7 operation and therefore keeping people and property here safe is a serious issue. The new Hochiki system is excellent – I’m delighted with its performance and look forward to using the company’s products in the future.’


For further information please contact Hochiki Europe on 01634 266569, email: emarketing@hochikieurope.com or visit www.hochikieurope.com.


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