Celebrating fifty years since founder and managing director Roger Carr started out in the fire extinguisher business at a former railway station in rural Norfolk, Britannia Fire Ltd is a leading manufacturer of portable and wheeled fire extinguishers in the UK. Also celebrating the tenth anniversary of the game-changing P50, the first composite multi-use extinguisher on the market, we take a closer look at half a century of success for Britannia Fire. Over the last fifty years, Britannia Fire has grown from humble beginnings with Mr Carr to become a worldwide supplier of exceptionally well-designed and well-crafted fire extinguisher products. Now occupying eleven buildings at Ashwellthorpe, Britannia Fire maintains its position as a leading manufacturer of portable and wheeled fire extinguishers, made to the highest standards, approved in many countries, and exported across the world to more than twenty five nations. Ten years ago, the firm also introduced the world to the P50, a game-changing innovation courtesy of Roger Carr’s outstanding knowledge. The P50 is a revolutionary addition to the fire extinguishing industry, and is perhaps the biggest change to fire extinguisher design this century. Mr Carr spent five years developing the composite materials and its structure of multi- layer HDPE, moulded inner cylinder wrapped in Kevlar thread, cased in a recyclable composite shell. Its concept came after customers questioned the need for costly annual servicing for their extinguisher stock. Rather than continue doing things the old way, Mr Carr believed there was another way. Today, the P50 combines innovation and the latest technology to eliminate the need for external servicing contracts, delivering significant savings for customers over the years, as well as removing the inconvenience of booking and hosting service engineers. It is a product that has been created entirely with the customer in mind. The P50 mixes sustainability and effective firefighting in a simple, single point extinguisher that is suitable for both A and B-type fires, eliminating the need for any on-the-spot decision-making which reduces safety risks. With a twenty-year lifespan, after which it can still be recycled and reused, and ticks all the sustainability and lower carbon footprint boxes. As a result of these sustainability features, the P50 became the perfect choice for Heathrow Airport, other customers include NHS trusts, frontline emergency vehicles, universities, international banks, public buildings, and many more. As a firm, Britannia Fire is synonymous with reliability, dependability, speedy responses, and proactivity when it comes to delivering services Best Fire Extinguisher Manufacturer 2020 Global Business Awards 2020 31 Jul20550 in the fire extinguisher industry. However, that does not mean that the firm does not face challenges in its daily work. Manufacturing in a rural area always presents a challenge when attracting skilled staff, and another key challenge has always been the opposition to the P50 from the industry that wants to maintain its members’ income from annual servicing. An extinguisher which eliminates that need is always going to be opposed. Britannia Fire is based in Norfolk, a county that is not renowned for its manufacturing, but it has overcome this challenge by finding physical space and support to grow by building and taking over other units on the industrial estate. For all the challenges though, there has also been great success for Britannia Fire. Its exporting has continued throughout lockdown to meet all demands from overseas and UK-based distributors, and installation has also been taking place at new customer premises. Iceland has been added to the list of export countries during lockdown, and Britannia Fire has also secured new orders and distributors during what has been a difficult time for all. Further growth is always paramount, and the firm is looking to add even more distributors and export countries to expand its global network. Britannia Fire is a perfect example of what it is like to be a part of truly successful British manufacturing, and it continues to remain excited for the times ahead with companies onshoring back to the United Kingdom due to recent events. Britannia Fire is ideally placed to take advantage of shorter lead times, better quality, excellent customer service, and true innovation. If the next fifty years of Britannia Fire’s service can be even half as outstanding as the last fifty years, then the firm will no doubt continue to be a game-changing presence in the fire extinguisher industry for a long time to come. Contact: Andy Spence Email:
[email protected] Website: www.britannia-fire.co.uk For all the challenges though, there has also been great success for Britannia Fire. Its exporting has continued throughout lockdown to meet all demands from overseas and UK-based distributors, and installation has also been taking place at new customer premises.