Will, our Managing Director had the exciting opportunity to speak at the grand launch event in May, held at The Light cinema in Thetford. Warren played a major role in the creation of a brand new promotional video. You can check out the video below. Who knows, you might even spot yourself in the video!
For more information and to get a glimpse of the exciting developments, here’s a press release shared by Breckland Council. Take a look and enjoy!
We want to give a huge congratulations to Will for being recognised as a Community Champion at a special evening event held at the Royal Norfolk Show. This event was an opportunity for Norfolk to show appreciation to individuals making significant contributions to their community or charitable organisations. The tribute directly aligns with His Majesty the King’s vision of fostering community cohesion and promoting volunteerism.
The event itself was quite entertaining, with an evening ceremony that Will described as slightly embarrassing, as they were asked to parade around a field while wearing a vibrant pink sash. Fortunately, Will had the pleasure of being joined by a group of friendly faces who were also being recognised. One being Scott Stones (from Waites & Stones), who was acknowledged for his tremendous efforts in delivering essential supplies to Ukraine.
Well done, Will, and to all the other individuals. Your dedication and hard work truly make a difference in our community. Keep up the excellent work!
Will Bridgman, our Managing Director and Scott Stones from Waites & Stones
Here’s a big shoutout to Danny Goodman, for reaching an incredible milestone of 10 years of dedicated service! Danny has been a rockstar over the past decade, consistently demonstrating a strong commitment to quality and continuous improvement. We’re thrilled to announce that he has recently taken on the role of leading our Quality department, in addition to heading up our Turning department.
Danny’s journey with us began on what was the old night shift, working from 6pm until 6am on a 4-on-4-off pattern as a skilled machinist. It didn’t take long for his exceptional problem-solving and people skills to shine through, earning him a promotion to shift manager and later to running the day shift turning department.
We extend our heartfelt gratitude to Danny for his unwavering loyalty throughout the years. We eagerly anticipate celebrating many more milestones and achievements together in the future. And who knows, if you’re lucky enough Danny, we might buy you a pint down the pub to celebrate – which will be an achievement itself! Cheers, Danny!
Danny Goodman with Lee Charlton, our Operations Director
We have an update to share with all our WhirlyReeler enthusiasts. Recently, one of our esteemed clients granted us permission to capture video footage of the testing phase for their ten new ‘mini’ WhirlyReelers. It provided us with an opportunity to observe these compact devices in action and showcase their capabilities.
Through these collaborations, we aim to continually explore innovation and deliver advanced solutions to our valued customers.
The ABTT Theatre Show took place once again at the stunning Alexandra Palace on Wednesday 7th and Thursday 8th June.
This exhibition is where the broadest collection of specialist suppliers sup- porting live performance technology and production gather to connect with those who deliver the performance in the world of theatre, events, festivals, music and more.
The ABTT Theatre Show is held at the Alexandra Palace, affectionately known as Ally Pally. This iconic building was opened in 1873 and stands very high up on a hill in North London. It stands with a massive tall communications aerial which can be seen for many miles around.
Last Wednesday, Richard Bridgman and Harry Haskew (our Controls Engineer Degree Apprentice) set out early by car for Ally Pally. They arrived on time even though the London traffic can be so unpredictable. Scott Fraser (our Estate Manager) had already taken the equipment down to the show and helped Ewart to set up the stand. The show is about the equipment used for touring shows – theatre installs, lighting, sound equipment, rigging just to name a few things. We were there to promote the “Whirly Reeler”; a joint venture financed between Rawner and Ewart and manufactured by Warren.
Being at a show and on a stand is quite challenging and both Warren and Ewart always want to maximise the time and money being spent on a stand. I would like to say that everyone who went past the stand or were an exhibitor were subjected to an education on the Whirly Reeler. We met and had a lot of interest and serious enquiries from some very high- profile organisations. Richard attended on Wednesday as Will was committed to speak at another event. Harry would say it’s quite a long and very arduous day!
Will took to the stand on Thursday, but I bet he struggled to find many that we had not spoken to the day before. It was especially good for Richard, because it enabled him to meet up with past suppliers and customers.
Richard and Sharon have lived in Bury for many years now and have often seen people being driven around on Rickshaws. They are really a big tricycle capable of carrying two people, ridden by a volunteer.
Recently there was an appeal to sponsor one in the Bury Free Press. Up until recently “Hughes” the electrical retailer had been the sponsor for “Cary”. Richard looked into this some more and once he found out what they did, he agreed to take over the Sponsorship. In the picture, you will see our Logo on one of the Rickshaw’s (affectionally known as “Cary”) that is used purely for collecting and delivering goods, food parcels, meals, prescriptions, groceries and many other things to support those in need, with help or support. The wonderful picture of all the Rickshaws together outside the Abbey Gardens Gate tells the whole story.
This is an unbelievable organisation run by many volunteers. They now have 5 Rickshaws; one is brand new and capable of carrying a disabled person in their wheelchair. All the rides are free and generally it’s the less able who take up the opportunity, but its open to all.
Richard is now talking to a group in Thetford to see if this idea might work in the town. It’s early days but you never know…
Please take a look at the website: www.bserickshaw.org.uk to find out more.
On Saturday 10th June, Brandon Town CFC had its annual presentation day. Scott Fraser, our Estate Manager coaches his son’s U7 team, which was sponsored by Warren Services.
Warren provided them with their first kit, training jackets and manager’s jacket. The lads had a successful year winning the majority of their games and having several players scouted for either Norwich, Ipswich or Cambridge. This current age group are considered non-competitive, but as everyone who has a child who plays a sport knows, it’s always competitive to them, so hopefully next year will bring a bit of silverware.
“Thanks again to Warren for sponsoring our team, we really appreciate it, from everyone at Brandon Town Football Club.”
Allen started with us back in the Old School at Feltwell. Allen is traditionally a turner; mostly manual, but he moved over to CNC on the small Haas machine later. It’s only at times like this that you reflect on the past.
Founder and Owner of Warren, Richard Bridgen said, “After we started doing the winch drums, they were getting bigger and bigger in diameter, as well as longer. I can remember taking Allen to a machine tool dealer in Newmarket, to look at a long bed lathe that we bought. Once installed, that was the beginning of our journey into the really big drums.
“I can still see Allen wearing a pair of metal studded gauntlets (a bit like chainmail) pulling the swarf away in long lengths when scrolling the grooves; this was highly dangerous work.
“To mark Allen’s retirement after 23 years, Sharon and I wanted to take him and his wife Val out for a meal. As Squeak is a good friend of Alan’s we invited him as well. After a lot of thought, we all decided on Valley Connection an Indian restaurant in Bury. Alan does a bit of Indian cooking so he knows all the spices and dishes. I agreed to act as chauffeur so they could all have a drink. The food was wonderful and was enjoyed by all. We had a good chat about the old days and how Warren has changed over the years. It’s always great to get together and reflect on the past. Currently, Allen was still working through his job list. I suggested he might need to get back to his fishing. After leaving the restaurant, we all enjoyed a walk around the town, as it was such a lovely warm evening.
“Everyone at Warren wishes Allen well and here is a very personal ‘thank you’ from Sharon and I, for those 23 years (what a journey!).”
Allen Towler retired from Warren on Friday 19th May. We wish him all the best for his retirement.
Will Bridgman
Today we have launched our new brand identity and website.
Will Bridgman, our Managing Director, says: “After 33 years growing the business, we wanted our corporate identity to convey Warren’s evolution into a modern, full-service manufacturing partner with a focus on engineered innovation. Warren’s purpose is to help our clients succeed by bringing their projects, such as high-value architectural engineering and electro-mechanical machines, to market, with speed and precision.”
The logo is bold and distinctive, in composition and colours, reflecting Warren’s creative strength and dynamism, including our employees’ energy and enthusiasm. This new website is also clean and easy to navigate, echoing Warren’s commitment to strong design thinking. The new brand recognises that clients now simply call our firm ‘Warren’ (although the legal entity remains Warren Services Limited).
Our new website
Will Bridgman says: “Our old brand identity served us well but no longer conveyed the strength of our brand reputation, technical promise and progressive personality. We wanted a new brand identity that our employees could take pride in and that our clients would recognise as distinctively Warren in tone. We are delighted to have worked with creative agencies from Norfolk and Suffolk on this branding project.”
Over the last 33 years, Warren has become an integral part of the regional business community. Clients, suppliers and partners see us as a local employer of choice and a passionate champion for apprenticeships, skills and East Anglia’s economy. Will Bridgman says: “We are ambitious to continue offering local people interesting and fulfilling careers, working with amazing, innovative clients from across the UK and overseas.”
We were pleased to collaborate with three local creative agencies on this project: brand design by Starfish Ltd, Norwich; copywriting by Business Writers Ltd, Norfolk; website build by Bellüber Ltd, Suffolk.
Will Bridgman says: “Thank you to Nick, Huw and Steph for all their work bringing our ideas to life.”
