SAFES
SPONSORED BY DAVENPORT BURGESS
CREST GIVES SAFES
CELEBRITY STATUS
Imagine the scenario: you are a wealthy,
successful celebrity who naturally needs a
safe – or two to keep your valuables secure.
But with fabulous homes
in London, Barbados and
Monaco, a string of stunning
cars and money to burn –
would you want a run of the
mill safe? Probably not....
And unlikely though it may
seem, Sunderland in England’s
North-East is home to an
enterprising company that is
giving safes not just a whole
new colourful image but a
growing cult celebrity status
worldwide.
Crest Safes was founded
in 1998 by Neil Coulson,
who until then had spent
most of his working life as
a safecracker, travelling
extensively to open safes
across the UK and sometimes
overseas.
Initially, the business
concentrated upon simply
“doing up” existing safes that
were getting rather tatty and
needed some restoration.
“Usually when we sold one
we got one back as a trade in,
so Full service, lock change,
lick of paint and checked over
we’d send them out with a
year’s warranty”
52
MAR/APR 2014
“But gradually, demand
began to materialise for more
than that. “Customers started
enquiring about whether
we could do more than just
refurbishment work,” he
explained. “They wanted a
more bespoke service that
included colour spraying,
special handles and other
personalised details that meant
that safe was unique to them.
“It’s similar to cars – someone
who orders a brand new, top of
the range Porsche for example,
will want it personalised – and
it is the same with a safe. It’s
become a status and even a
fashion statement. We can
honestly say that these safes
are bespoke - no two are alike
– each one is genuinely unique
to the owner.”
In fact, Neil’s wealthy
customers – some of them top
sports personalities - include
the owners of Porsches,
Ferraris and other luxury
cars.
“We could see the way the
market was developing for us
and because of that, we have
invested substantially in top
class machinery to help us
achieve the best customisation
techniques. Basically, we do
things that other companies
cannot – or will not – do,” he
added. “The latest addition
is a CNC machine which will
prove really useful – though I
admit I am still learning how
to use it!”
High profile customers know
that they can trust Neil and
his team to come up with
the goods and that trust is
an important aspect of the
business.
It isn’t just the outside of the
safes that get the Crest Safes
bespoke treatment: special
features are incorporated
inside – such as leather-lined
drawers, special colours and
even messages – as in the case
of one generous customer who
ordered a safe personalised
with McLaren team colours as
a 40th birthday present for a
motor racing fanatic friend.
To read more, visit www.locksmithjournal.co.uk