Paul Brettell – Operations and Quality Standards Director and Co – Owner
Duties: Overseeing the smooth running of the factory and production processes, designing, fabricating and installing bespoke ironworks. Managing the quality of goods leaving the production line.
Experience: Over 30 years. On leaving school Paul started a training course to become a car mechanic. However, he decided that he would rather work in the family business and so he joined a short time later. He started working on the factory floor learning various jobs where he remains to this day in his capacity as Operations Director.
What he gets up to outside of work: Proud father to two daughters. A qualified PADI diver. A keen cook and dinner party host, curry enthusiast, and reliving his youth on the Yamaha RD250 he restored to mint condition.
Anthony Brettell – Technical and Strategic Director and Co – Owner
Duties: Leadership excellence and strategic management of the business to ensure continued success going forward. Calculating and submitting the more complex quotations and tenders, advising customers on technical issues, designing bespoke patterns to customer requirements. At an operational level, Anthony is very helpful to customers and can sort out almost any issue with ironworks thanks to his donkey’s years of hands on experience with both manufacturing and installation.
Experience: Over 30 years. Anthony joined the business straight after leaving school. He started off on the factory floor fabricating sheet metal products on a piecework basis. During his time there he learned every job going. Having witnessed the decline in demand over the years for some of the products being manufactured, Anthony was instrumental in shifting the focus of the business by diversifying its product range to what it is today. These days, Anthony heads our busy office and leads on business strategy.
What he gets up to outside of work: An overly keen fly fisherman, legend has it that he has an ambition to fish every river in the UK. He is now sporting a real fisherman’s beard, bigger than in this photo. Loves cooking, swimming, playing golf and latterly, cycling. The Western Highlands is his spiritual home. An Aston Villa fan. Enough said.
Lisa Blick – Accounts Manager
Duties: Ensuring company books and all things fiscal are up to date and reportable to our company accountants. We were lucky to find Lisa, she’s a lovely friendly lady who completes our team.
Experience: Donkeys years experience of balancing company books using accountancy software. A dab hand at bringing ancient companies into the 21st Century as she did with us.
What she gets up to outside of work: Seen here with some of her pets, Rocky the horse upon which she can do all manner of glamorous equine sports such as dressage. And not forgetting Archie and Mitzi in the foreground. A proper country girl is Lisa, she makes her own jams and chutneys and keeps chickens. We love Christmas with Lisa because she brings us things like her super home made Sloe Gin.
Steve Siviter – Foreman (Sheet Metal)
Duties: Manufacturing our ever popular tin baths, coal bunkers and corn/storage bins.
Experience: Steve started here on leaving school in the 70s. He is thought to be the only person left in the country who can make tin baths like ours. He’s so fast at the workbench, he can turn out a coal bunker from scratch in under 30 minutes. Our smiley chap Ricky James (see below) will take over from Steve when he retires but we don’t plan to release Steve for at least the next 135 years. Good at buying cakes and biscuits for the office ladies.
What he gets up to outside of work: An avid golfer, he’ll play in all weathers because he just doesn’t feel the cold. Dad to a lovely German Shepherd pup.
Andy John – Welder/Fabricator
Duties: Andy is our top fabricator. He manufactures our ironworks in all styles from all of our ranges. He is always smiling, we think we must have written this into his job description. He fitted in with our family straight away and it’s almost like he’s been here longer than the Directors, he loves it.
Experience: Joined us in 2015, Andy has years of experience (too numerous to mention in his words) fabricating and installing ironworks.
What he gets up to outside of work: Andy has a lovely super tasty Ducati which he enjoys polishing and blasting around on. He’s a sight to behold on it.
Ricky James – Welder/Fabricator
Duties: Ricky is experienced in making our coal bunkers and corn bins, cutting sheet metal parts for these products, helping Steve with tin bath manufacturing and spray painting our ironworks. He joined Andy on the fabrication side of the factory and is a dab hand at making our ironworks in all styles from all of our ranges. They make a great team. He’s good at buying cakes and biscuits for the office ladies, his fiancée makes a very mean cookie which we don’t see enough of (hint hint). And did you ever see a smilier face than his (apart from Andy’s)?
Experience: We found Ricky in 2008. He’s been learning how to make our handmade tin baths, a skilled and complicated job. Also a very experienced welder, he turns out a lovely gate.
What he gets up to outside of work: Our smiley chap Ricky embarked on a major purchase of jewels beyond belief, an engagement ring for his fiancée. Since recovering from that expense he’s expanded his family by welcoming his son into the world. He also passed his motorbike test and enjoys taking to the open roads with our Andy. He’s champion at growing different types of beard and is a dab hand at DIY. A committed family man, Ricky is kept busy with his home life and socialising with friends.
Liam Weston – Factory Operative
Duties: Liam carries out general factory duties including bending, folding, punching and notching the galvanized sheet steel ready for fabricating into coal bunkers and tin baths etc. He also cleans the hot dip galvanized gates and railings in readiness for powder coating. We couldn’t do without him.
Experience: Started in 2018, this is Liam’s first job since leaving college and he’s been great, so we’re more than happy to keep him.
What he gets up to outside of work: Socialising with friends and a keen Play Station gamer. Power lifting to Olympic standard (or thereabouts) and dog dad to a beautiful Malamute which he enjoys taking for walks.
