SAFES
SPONSORED BY DAVENPORT BURGESS
‘their work does
not cost a fortune’
“We replicated the authentic
McLaren colours and added
latest rally images and inside
put a birthday greeting,”
Neil smiled. “That was some
birthday present!”
Despite the celebrity status,
Neil says their work does “not
cost a fortune”
.
“I’d like to think we are the
best at what we do – to be fair,
not many others are doing it,”
he adds. “But the costs are as
high as you might imagine. All
the painting and air-brushing
is done by hand and a lot of
detailed research goes on into
making sure every detail is
authentic.”
As well as private customers,
Crest Safes also have
commercial ones – such as a
hotel group which wanted all
its safes restored to their 1880
colours with suitable heritage
parts.
“If the parts are no longer
available, then as engineers
we will make them,” says
Neil, who does much of the
personalisation work himself.
“I work very long hours
because this kind of job takes
time, but I really enjoy it and
it is very satisfying when the
customer is delighted with
what we’ve achieved.”
Despite the many
personalisation techniques,
the team does not lose sight
of the fact that safes are about
security.
“Original old safes are great
but they simply cannot meet
today’s standards of testing
and certification,” says Neil,
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“so we obviously work with the
newer ones that do meet all
the requirements.”
Pink paint inside and out,
mother of pearl handles,
handles crafted to replicate
a jaguar’s head, beautiful
clocks incorporated into the
front, leather-lined drawers
and other fittings – there is
just no end to the kind of
enhancements Neil and his
team can come up with.
Customers come from
across the UK and many other
countries – a recent special
commission was from Nigeria,
for example.
“It is a luxury market and a
niche one but it is one we are
very glad to be in,” Neil adds.
In 2012, the business
invested in new, larger
premises which has enabled
Neil and the team – all timeserved engineers – to rock up
the business even more.
But they do find time to do
their bit for charity. “We’ve
donated special safes to
various charitable causes to
help raise money,” he says.
“It’s important to share some
of our success with the local
community.”
The company has exhibited
its safes at MLA expos and one
of Crest Safes models will be
on show at the forthcoming
IFSEC event: “ ]