How to Get Ahead – Centurion Launch
The Rebrand No rebrand would be
A Bit of History… Centurion has manufactured 35 million helmets over its 138-year history. The
company built its reputation making miner’s helmets, crash helmets and builders’ helmets and more recently has sold these in over 65 countries. Being a smallish company of about 130 employees situated in the ‘wilds’ of Thetford in Norfolk, it would seem that relative obscurity suited it, but recently Centurion has decided to challenge this view and has appointed an entirely new executive team to update the strategic vision and crack new markets. I guess this could be an example of how companies can react to the changes that might result following the Brexit vote. Pedigree Counts Although it is a small company, Centurion has some impressive notches on its
boardroom table. For example, it was the first company to attain the British Kitemark on its full safety helmet range and this has been continuously held for over 40 years. Centurion was also the company that protected the heads of all the workers who made the 2012 London Olympics happen. Centurion’s new Nexus range of helmets is the only one to have been
approved by multiple country’s standards bodies including antistatic and explosive tests and Centurion is in the process of establishing the first head protection moulding factory in Saudi Arabia. The Middle east is clearly a market of the future where massive construction projects are planned or already underway, and where PPE does not have a high enough profile for many of the people working on them. The New Team Centurion’s new vision and focus was driven initially by new CEO Jeff Ward – a
go -ahead American with a wide experience of management and executive roles in the tool and safety industries, both in Europe and in the UK. In his short presentation I was much taken with his view that people don’t like
to be ‘scared’ into a purchase of safety gear – we should be celebrating what we are protecting – literally “using our heads” to enable judgement and creativity to galvanise staff and customers so that Centurion can become a global expert in ‘above the neck safety’. Jeff has spent a lot of time and thought gathering a team around him that will
enable the vision to be achieved. The team consists of Andrew Gordon, Marketing Director, Mandy
Humphreys, Technical and Operations Director, Stacey Wightman, HR Officer, Chris Zanone, Finance Director and Steve Neumann, Sales Director. Each of this team have varied experience – young enough to be full of energy, but experienced enough to have learnt a lot about their chosen field.
complete without a new logo and Centurion has come up with a classic – a big C representing a head, with five small oblongs around the back of the C. The C is open and faces forward into the future and is in a clear blue colour. It takes more than a logo for a rebrand, so the company has invested heavily in improving the appearance and efficiency of its main premises too. By opening up and relighting the factory floor and rejigging office space to be more pleasant, open and making for freer communication, Centurion has given physical shape to its desire to use the talents, skills and heads of its employees to forge ahead into the future. And More… After the presentations visitors were given a chance to tour the factory floor
and have Mandy Humphreys explain some of the intricacies of the manufacturing processes involved in making “above the neck” safety equipment. Like most modern production, the production space is compact and mechanised, with different helmet designs dropping onto a conveyor every few minutes. As each reached its appropriate work station it was gathered up and fitted with the appropriate straps, lining and buckles needed by teams of workers, whose hand skills were smooth, quick and efficient. Mandy assured us that when she tried it she found out just how difficult it was to keep up the pace. As corporate looks and logos are important nowadays, Centurion is also looking to improve its ability to print company logos etc, on the manufactured helmets, by investing in better equipment.
The University of “Above the Neck Safety” Newly tucked into the premises is what Centurion calls its “University” where
all of its current safety gear is on display. Apart from being slightly gobsmacked at the diversity of goods on the shelves, I was also able to try on some of the gear to get a better feel for the products and their different attributes. The new set up is very flexible so that Centurion can accommodate clients,
hold demonstrations, educate sales teams, directors and employees about its products. There is an audio-visual facility and storage for historical and competitors’ kit for those times when ‘hands on’ is the most effective way of getting the message across. Some of the products on display met my ‘spot-on’ test because I could immediately see the relevance and functionality of the design. One of these was
12 ToolBUSINESS+HIRE
www.toolbusiness.co.uk
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32
