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13 October 2024

About Canford

An introduction to the Canford business and brands.

Canford logo

The Canford Group

Canford is probably best known for its catalogue and website listing over 20,000 items aimed at those who use or install audio video and communications equipment. The sheer breadth of that target market has meant that Canford has had both the pleasure and responsibility of serving hundreds of thousands of clients since its formation in 1976.

From the earliest days those clients have ranged from major national broadcasters to one-man businesses and from remote island based customers to a surprising number of FTSE 100 companies. The expectations of those large organisations have meant that Canford has had to maintain a remarkably high standard of customer service and compliance since the beginning. Despite its growth over those years, Canford has always attempted to maintain a very personal approach to its customers and takes great care to maintain that ethos. Of course it is now possible to buy via the internet but if you want to call and talk, you will not be confronted by automated responses, only fellow humans!

Meet the team

Canford's 40th CelebrationsOur people make the difference, and together form the team who make Canford. Together we strive to design, develop and manufacture distinctive products, deliver great customer service, create industry leading technical publications and provide customers with unrivalled support… meet the team »

Manufacturing and distribution

At its inception Canford was a hybrid mix of manufacturing and distribution and this continues. No one competes in the scale and complexity of the Canford proposition which is why the business is successful in meeting customer needs in more than 90 countries. Even so, the team still regards itself as having all the characteristics of a small business in terms of the personal approach to their customers but having all the confidence of knowing that the brand offers the quality of product and after sales support of a mature and trusted organisation.

Canford - Not just a 'dealer' - Manufactured in the UK

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.

Mains panel switch

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 UK

Canford manufacturing

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 has recently been extended to include fibre optic termination capability.

Canford manufactured components bring a system to life.

Canford Manufacturing - Portland UK

Canford manufacturing

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.

Two-year guarantee

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).

Environmental initiatives

Canford are committed to reducing the environmental impact of our business and have introduced a number of initiatives to further this aim.

Green Group

Green Group

Canford’s Green Group brings together members from all areas of the business to discuss, and action, eco-friendly initiatives that help to reduce our impact on the planet. Whether it be replacing our entire roof with solar panels, investing in carbon offsetting for shipping, exploring alternative, bio-degradable or recyclable packaging materials, or installing PIR / motion-detection lighting throughout the building, it all starts at the Green Group.

You can read more about the Green Group and their recent efforts in Source Material 8.

RECOGNISED by Canford

RECOGNISED by Canford

Environmental responsibility is incredibly important to us at Canford. We are committed to significant investment over the next few years and are striving to have as little impact on the environment as possible. We are also encouraging our customers, partners, and suppliers to do the same, which is why we have introduced the RECOGNISED by Canford logo.

Wherever you see this mark on our website, this means that the manufacturer has told us about one or more environmental or sustainability initiatives that has gone into their product. This could be products or packaging that use recycled or recyclable materials, ethically or sustainably sourced products or materials, products which use carbon balancing / offsetting, or one or more of any number of environmentally positive initiatives.

For our full environmental policies, including RoHS & WEEE, see our Environmental Policies.

Company policies

For further information on the company and some of the company-wide policies in place at Canford see Company Info & Policies. If you're looking for website policies, including our privacy policy, see the Information Centre or the links at the bottom of the site.

Panamic logo

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, 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

Panamic boom pole
Tecpro logo

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.

More information on the Tecpro product range.

Tecpro Master Station
EMO Systems logo

EMO

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.

More information on the EMO Systems product range.

EMO E325 Mic Splitter
NEAL logo

NEAL

The leading provider of high integrity, custom-designed interview recording equipment.

NEAL recorders are in use with many law enforcement organisations in the UK in addition to law enforcement organisations in countries world-wide. Our products, whether used for investigation, disciplinary or interviews, provide a complete and evidential account of what has been said.

"NO DISPUTE"

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

Part of the Canford Group since 1996, the NEAL range still includes cassette based systems for those who value its simplicity but includes digital recorders and software systems for the recording of interviews, meetings, disciplinary hearings and for the subsequent transcription.

For more information on the NEAL product range please visit www.neal.co.uk
or contact the NEAL Sales team on +44 (0)191 418 1199 and sales@neal.co.uk

NEAL CD interview recorder