Carrs Company Profile Brochure - International Jewellery London

Contents
Carrs2
Sheffield4
Ron Carr
6
Richard Carr
8
Andrew Carr
10
Martin Carr
12
1976 & beyond...
16
Product Concept, Design & Engineering 20
Silver Fabrication
22
Tableware & Giftware Manufacture
24
Cutlery Manufacture
26
Cabinet Making & Woodworking
28
Bespoke Products Service
30
In a little over thirty years,
Carrs has created a
prestigious silverware brand,
world renowned for its values
of quality and design. Its many
collections of highly desirable
products will satisfy the needs
of any occasion and the most
discerning of customers.
Despite our continued growth
and expansion, Carrs still
remains an independent,
family-run company, with a
strong sense of tradition and
the determination to secure
the business for generations
to come.
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We are proud to be
associated with the City
of Sheffield and with the
preservation of the city’s
illustrious Cutlery and
Silverware industry.
Sheffield’s international reputation
for manufacturing has been
established for over two hundred
years, mainly in the field of
Steel, Cutlery and Silverware.
It is the city’s rich heritage of
manufacturing excellence that has
inspired Carrs to be part of an
emerging movement to rejuvenate
and restore this proud reputation.
Sheffield is not only Britain’s fifth
largest city, but also one of the
safest and greenest. A third of the
conurbation lies within the Peak
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District National Park and half of
its population lives just 15 minutes
from open countryside.
Over the last few years,
Sheffield has emerged as a
regional centre for both leisure
and culture, boasting for example,
a range of world class sporting
venues, a vibrant theatre scene
and one of the most successful
shopping complexes in the
country, making the city a great
place to work and live.
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Along with most children
born and raised in Sheffield
during the 1940’s and 50’s,
I was always aware of the
city’s historical connection
with the silverware and cutlery
industry and I starting my
working life as an apprentice
with a local, precious metal
company making cutlery and
silverware components.
Ron
Carr
Chairman &
Managing
Director
My interest in working with
precious metals grew and in
1976 after reaching the position
of production engineer with
the same company, I resigned,
became self employed and began
hand-making items of jewellery.
The business flourished as the
country planned to celebrate
Her Majesty the Queen’s Silver
Jubilee in 1977 and demanded
commemorative silver jewellery
and other products in huge
volumes.
The last thirty years have been
hugely rewarding. I was able at the
very beginning, to build a small but
dedicated team, with the ability
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and skills to launch the company
into a long-term, but ambitious
expansion programme, which
I hoped, would eventually see
Carrs emerge as an internationally
recognised brand of silverware
and cutlery. I am proud to
state that this goal has been
successfully achieved.
Looking to secure Carrs for
future generations, all my three
sons are already actively involved
in the management of the
business. They are now poised
and more than eager to take on
more of the responsibility for the
continued progress and success
of the company.
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As I was growing up, I was
never asked what career
I would like to pursue.
Everybody knew from an early
age that my vocation is Carr’s
of Sheffield.
Richard
Carr
Sales &
Marketing
Director
From my early teens, I did all that
I could to learn about our trade.
All of my free time was spent in
the factory, on the shop floor or
in the offices as I was fascinated
by the process of turning a raw
element into an intricate design.
Silverware is in my blood and
I have developed an in-depth
knowledge and understanding
of the business. Something I
believe is only possible through an
unrivalled passion for what I do.
After working in various sales roles
at Carrs, I decided the best way
to learn to run a business was to
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establish one of my own. In 2002
I began trading, importing jewellery
and small gifts from the Far East.
My brother, Andrew, joined a year
later and by 2006, our turnover
had increased vastly. At this point,
the company was amalgamated
into Carrs and is now a great
asset to the group.
I continue to look for innovative
ways to expand the group, its
product range and its global
reach. My ultimate goal is to
develop Carr’s further and ensure
our longevity as the world’s
premier silver manufacturer.
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A childhood spent watching
silversmiths at work is great
grounding for a career in the
trade. But even when you think
you know how every product
is made, you realise you can
never stop learning
Andrew
Carr
Sales
Director
10
Like my brothers, it was always
part of the plan to join Carrs after
finishing my education and once
I started showing an aptitude for
marketing, my niche was carved.
The first 18 months of my working
life were spent with the customer
service and sales departments.
A three-year break followed, during
which time Richard and I ran our
own business, getting involved in
all aspects of management.
As sales director I am constantly
looking for new products and
markets to develop. Our challenge
now is to invigorate the younger
sector, which I believe holds the
key to a viable future for Carrs.
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It wasn’t my degree in physics
that shaped my career, but the
interest I developed in IT
during my studies.
Martin
Carr
IT Director
When I joined Carrs in 1992, the
company’s computer system was
in its infancy. It was a time of
rapid change and I spent a
number of years installing a
network that was accessible to
everyone and provided us with
vital stock control information.
By the late 1990s the pace of
development had slowed and we
started to move further towards
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the IT system we have today.
This gave me time to turn my
attention to another growing area
of business – health and safety –
something that still occupies much
of my time.
Keeping Carrs at the forefront of
operational and legislative change
continues to provide new and
interesting challenges. Life is
certainly never boring!
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1976
1990
1999
Ron Carr started a self-employed
business making jewellery.
Decision made to set-up a silver
fabrication department and become
self-sufficient in our increasing
requirements for silver raw materials.
The 2000 Millennium celebrations
give Carrs a unique opportunity to
launch a hugely successful range of
commemorative products.
Purchase of 6 acres of land within
the boundaries of Sheffield for the
development of a purpose-built factory.
1977
1991
2002
Year of the Queen’s Silver Jubilee
celebrations.
Carrs receives the prestigious ‘Queens
Award For Export Achievement’v
Carrs wins ‘The Brand of the Year
Award’, sponsored by the UK’s most
influential retail trade journal.
Carrs of Sheffield Limited was
incorporated and the growing business
moved into its first industrial premises
to allow expansion of its facilities for
the manufacture of silver jewellery and
commemorative products.
To compliment the Queen’s Golden
Jubilee an exquisite limited edition set
of 18ct Gold cutlery marked with the
unique Jubilee Hallmark, is introduced.
1979
1992
2005
Launch of a small range of silver
photograph frames, which was
encouragingly, very well received
within the trade.
The company relocates to its newly
built, 80,000 sq.ft. premises and
immediately starts to plan for further
product development and expansion.
Significance of the Carrs cutlery brand
continues to grow.
1981
1994
2009
Early tentative steps taken into the
export markets by attending its first
international trade show.
Begin manufacture of a comprehensive
range of cutlery patterns and traditional
silverware products which become
immediately successful with our
customers world-wide.
Acquisition of the Osborne Group of
companies, making Carrs the largest
‘start to finish’ manufacturer of cutlery
in the UK, with an incredible archive of
hundreds of cutlery patterns spanning
over 300 years.
1982
1995
2010
First major export order secured as
its flagship product range of silver
photograph frames expands to meet its
increasing popularity within the UK and
export markets.
Opening of prestigious retail
concessions in London’s famous
Harrods and Selfridges Department
stores.
The Osborne brand of silverware is relaunched, with the opening of a second
concession within the Silver Room of
the Harrods store.
1988
1996
2012
The company continues to prosper,
concentrating totally on photograph
frame production. It now employs over
100 personnel in several premises
totalling over 30,000sq.ft.
Carrs products can now be purchased
from the very best stores in over 50
countries around the world.
To be continued.......
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Product
Concept, Design
& Engineering
The Carrs philosophy has
always been to encompass new
technologies and techniques
whilst employing the finest of
traditional hand skills in order to
create a uniqueness of product
and maintain the exacting
standards of quality, that have
always been the hallmark of a
Carrs product.
This philosophy is more than
illustrated in our approach to
product concept, design and
engineering. From individual
requests and commissions
to multi-product projects and
collections often requiring critical
and demanding specifications,
our highly skilled development
team are able to employ
techniques ranging from free-hand
concept drawings to sophisticated
computer aided detailed design
specifications, for both the product
and all necessary tooling that will
be required during manufacture.
To augment the creativity of
our in-house team, we
regularly work with independent
designers from many different
fields in order to maintain an
awareness of fresh ideas and
trends which we strive to reflect
in our silverware products.
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Silver
Fabrication
Silver fabrication is the
preparation and supply of the
raw material from which all
our Sterling Silver products
are manufactured.
Carrs is the only silverware
company in the UK to have this
facility, as a vital part of our total
manufacturing operations based
in Sheffield. Our experience
and expertise in the processes
of melting, casting, rolling and
forming of silver alloys is well
established after 20 years of
successful operation.
Being independent of third party
suppliers gives Carrs an unrivalled
advantage in terms of quality and
delivery management.
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Tableware
& Giftware
Manufacture
Utilising the numerous forms
of silver components prepared
by our Fabrication department,
products now commence their
individual production routes
through the various stages of
assembly, polishing, finishing,
inspections and packing.
Many of these operations such
as metal-spinning, silversmithing
and buffing are still traditional and
highly skilled techniques whilst
other operations have greatly
benefitted from an investment in
new technology.
The Quality Assurance afforded
to our customers by the ‘Carrs
Brand’ and the reputation we
have achieved over the last
30 years for its consistency, is
a source of immense pride and
importance to the company.
In order to maintain these high
standards there are quality control
procedures employed at every
stage of the production route.
Every item of silverware
manufactured by Carrs has a
Hallmark, independently applied
by the Sheffield Assay Office,
which guarantees the product to
be of ‘925’ Sterling Silver quality.
As a result of close co-operation
between the Sheffield Assay
Office and Carrs over many years
and the logistical problems of
daily transporting thousands of
silver items across the city for
hallmarking, permission was given
by the British Hallmarking Council
in 1995 for the hallmarking of all
our products on Carrs premises.
This unique arrangement within
the silverware industry is ongoing.
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Cutlery
Manufacture
Sheffield is the spiritual home
of the cutlery industry and has
been at the very heart of most
of the development, design
and manufacture of cutlery
for the best part of the last
thousand years.
The first recorded mention of
Sheffield cutlery was in 1340
as part of an inventory of King
Edward III’s possessions at the
Tower of London.
Through a continuous programme
of investment and acquisition,
Carrs have established themselves
as the UK’s premier manufacturer
of fine quality cutlery and the
largest supplier of cutlery blanks to
many other silverware companies.
We now have access to one of the
most comprehensive catalogues
of cutlery patterns to be found
anywhere in Europe.
Even in today’s technological
world, there are many elements
to the production of Carrs cutlery
that demand high levels of
craftsmanship and painstaking
care and attention to detail,
befitting a product of quality
and elegance and which are
testimony to the heritage of
cutlery manufacture in Sheffield.
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Cabinet Making
& Woodworking
Allied to the catalogue, of period
and contemporary styled cutlery
canteens, cabinets and tables,
beautifully crafted in our own
workshops, many of our
silverware products have an
element of wood in their design
and construction.
From photograph frame backs,
jewellery and keepsake boxes to
bespoke presentation cases, all
are manufactured in our extensive
woodworking, polishing, covering
and lining facilities.
Computer controlled precision
machining techniques and
traditional cabinet-making
and carpentry skills, dovetail
sympathetically together creating
an environment to bring out the
very best of British craftsmanship
and quality.
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Bespoke
Product Service
In addition to being
internationally acclaimed, as one
of the major silverware brands,
Carrs has now established a
growing reputation for its highly
specialised ‘Bespoke Product’
service.
We have the facility to visually
customise and enhance either
existing products from our
extensive range, or create
something completely individual
and unique from a client’s
brief. Techniques such as
deep-engraving and selective
gold-plating, add to the rich
embellishments that can be
achieved and applied to any
silverware product.
Our bespoke service will also
undertake the total design and
manufacture of private and
corporate commissions as well
as the project management of
large multi-product collections.
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