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About Canford

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The Canford Group

Canford’s founders - and still majority owners – came from careers in broadcasting and over the 30 years since the business started they have gathered a team who reflect a wealth of experience across the whole spectrum of audio, video and data hardware and infrastructure products for which the company has gained such a widely respected reputation.

Thirty years of continuous development have seen us change from (literally) one man and his dog in an old colliery building to a team of over 200 people on 5 sites totalling over 100,000 sq ft (9,290 sq m) of offices, factories and warehousing.

No one who has had any association with the audio visual industry over the last three decades could have avoided huge change and Canford has embraced this fully, whilst recognising that the rate of change varies from customer to customer and it is here that the core of Canford’s success lies – an understanding of, and sympathy with, customer needs.

Customers are at the heart of all we do; their issues dominate management meetings, sales training, product development and communication of all kinds. On the (thankfully rare) occasions where we fail, our customer services team are there to pick up the pieces and have a direct line to the Chief Executive.

The company’s longest surviving and most recognised publication is, of course, "the source"™ – the Canford catalogue. First published in anything resembling its current form in 1981, it has remained a ‘must have’ document on the shelves of broadcast engineers to theatre technicians to system integrators (and well beyond) almost since its first release. Now, in its 44th edition, it is a full colour 1,200+ page volume and has a print run of around 35,000 copies of the UK edition alone.

As we look towards the end of the first decade of the 21st century, Canford is confident in its ability to absorb change whilst retaining those aspects of the business which make it distinctive. Over a quarter of our output is exported and over 40% is manufactured in house which, in the context of a turnover approaching £20M, is a legacy one man (and his dog) can feel extremely proud of.

Charles Kennedy
Chief Executive
Canford Group

Canford – Not just a ‘dealer’

From the outset, it was clear that Canford should not be ‘just another dealer’, but would draw on the operational and design background of its staff, to design and manufacture unique, problem solving products. Canford has never adopted a ‘me-too’ attitude to manufacturing, preferring to listen to the technical needs of the professional user and offer innovative, reliable, practical and cost effective solutions.

From humble beginnings offering specialist woodwork and studio acoustic tables, the manufacturing operation has grown both organically and by acquisition. Canford’s in-house manufacturing capabilities now encompass electrical and electronic equipment production, mechanical assembly, metal machining, sheet metal fabrication, finishing and powder coating. Over 85 staff on two sites are directly involved in manufacturing over 3000 products, which account 40% of the company’s turnover.

Where specialist or large-scale processes are required, long-term partnerships have been forged with leading European manufacturers to produce equipment and components of the highest quality. Canford original designs are usually completed in-house using state of the art CAD/CAM systems, to maintain a focus on the customers needs and to ensure that reliability and manufacturing efficiency is designed-in.

Canford Manufacturing – Washington

The design and manufacturing division located at the Canford Group HQ in Washington, Tyne and Wear, was established in 1979. The products could be described as ‘widgets and glue’, or all those essential installation elements, cable assemblies, wired jackfields, adapters, interface boxes and format converters, cases, racking and flight cases, stageboxes and mounting plates, etc etc, without which a system would simply be a pile of expensive, inert boxes. Continual development of the range is driven by market needs and will soon include fibre optic termination capability.

Canford manufactured components bring a system to life.

Canford Manufacturing – Portland

Established in 1999, following the acquisition of Swift Precision, the Canford Manufacturing plant on Portland continues to receive significant investment in machinery and staff. The facilities now include CAD design systems, CNC vertical machining centres, comprehensive CNC sheet metal fabrication equipment, a tool-making workshop, finishing machines and a powder coating suite.

The extensive standard range of connector and patch panels and rack hardware is produced here and having design and manufacture in house offers the flexibility to deliver customised products economically and quickly. The majority of the fabricated enclosures and machined panels used in Canford’s other products are also produced at this plant.

Panamic

Regarded as the leading microphone boompoles by both the film and TV industries, they have been used by such luminaries as Steven Spielberg and the late Stanley Kubrick in their productions.

Panamic was founded in 1972 by award winning sound recordist Colin Charles. The Panamic range was acquired by Canford in 2007 and continues to be hand crafted in the UK, using the highest quality carbon fibre,b the same skilled personnel now at Canford's plant in Portland, Dorset. Panamic Boom Poles are distributed worldwide by a network of dealers to the centres of film and TV production, from Bollywood to Hollywood.

For more information on the Panamic product range please visit www.panamic.net

Tecpro

Canford acquired the established Technical Projects intercom range in 1986 and continue to manufacture the communication system, now known as Tecpro, at the factory in Washington, UK. The rugged two wire system is the industry standard in the UK theatre and live events markets.

In addition to being reliable, easy to use and cost effective, Tecpro is also well known for being very…. square and black! Tecpro has evolved and the introduction of the Series II builds on the trusted original design, incorporates many new features, has a new ergonomic feel and is backwards compatible with installed Tecpro systems.

Two-year guarantee

The commitment to quality and reliability is demonstrated by the two-year guarantee on all Canford manufactured products. Reliability comes from attention to detail during the design and manufacturing processes and comprehensive testing of the finished product. Pride is taken in the virtually zero returns rate and it is a measure of the success of the manufacturing and distribution operation that Canford manufactured products are to be found in over 50 countries of the world (at the last count).

EMO Systems

Founded in 1973, the EMO reputation for reliability and audio fidelity was earned in professional studios and in touring and conference rigs worldwide. Rugged mains panels and sequential switching units, microphone splitters and direct injection boxes that withstand years of abuse on the road are in daily use by leading engineers and artists. Manufactured in the UK by Canford since 2000, simplicity of design and the highest quality components remains the philosophy behind the EMO range. Less is definitely more when reliability and longevity really matters.

For more information on the EMO Systems product range please visit www.emosystems.co.uk.

NEAL Recording Systems

NEAL was founded 30 years ago and originally manufactured cassette recorders for professional applications. This technology was developed into an unmatched range of secure audio and video recording and transcription systems for legal applications, particularly criminal evidence interviews. The Neal equipment reputation for quality, ease of operation and reliability makes it the preferred choice of many police forces, government agencies and large corporations worldwide.

Part of the Canford Group since 1996, close co-operation with The Home Office, police authorities and international agencies is an essential part of the development of the secure evidential audio and video recorders and digital storage systems. The state of the art range still includes cassette based systems for those who value its simplicity but includes highly robust, simple to operate digital systems for surveillance, communications and interview recording, transcription and logging. All systems are manufactured in the Washington factory so custom versions can be manufactured to meet specialised needs.

For more information on the NEAL product range please visit www.neal.co.uk or contact the NEAL Sales team direct on 0191 418 1199 (For customers outside the UK, please call your usual Canford number).

ISO9001

Customer satisfaction is paramount, so for Canford, ISO9001:2000 is not just a symbol on the letterhead, it is a framework that embodies the philosophy of quality and continual improvement on which the company is built. Canford has been an ISO9001 quality registered company since 1995 and every aspect of the business is driven by these principles. Teams drawn from all areas of the company undertake a rolling schedule of audits, in addition, a comprehensive audit it carried our every six months by SGS, an IRCA and UKAS registered verification company.

Ash Distribution

Ash Distribution, a wholesale computer spares and peripherals distribution company founded in 1997, became part of the Canford Group in 2007. Whilst in a slightly different sector, it is engaged in stocking, distribution and swift delivery of vital components, all activities Canford knows well.

Ash’s reputation in the computer spares industry is based upon quality products from Microsoft, AMD, Sony, HP, Western Digital, Pioneer, Logitech, Inkrite, Dane-Elec, the Ash own brand ‘Trueway’ and many more. The acquisition combines a vast new range of cost effective IT products with the reassurance of over 30 years of service to the industry.

For more information on Ash Distribution please visit www.ashdistribution.co.uk.

Totalsystems

Totalsystems is a name synonymous with critical audio measurement for many decades. Incorporated into the Canford Group in 1997, the range of LED multi scale PPM and correlation meters are manufactured and calibrated at the Washington factory.

CE / RoHS / WEEE

Canford is committed to ensuring that its products meet, or exceed, the requirements of all applicable European directives. These include electrical safety, electromagnetic compatibility standards (EMC) and environmental directives (RoHS and WEEE). The company operates a continuous programme of assessment and testing and where appropriate, products are CE and WEEE marked, as required by law.

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