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Showing posts with the label manufacturing

Bespoke Roof Turret for a New Build Estate

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  Good Directions Ltd manufactured a bespoke 900mm Roof Turret complete with a Verdigris copper effect roof and gold painted finial on top, for a new build project by Rose Builders Ltd. Working from a drawing which was provided by the customer, this Cupola was to go onto a project in Essex where the builders were constructing 10 bungalows and wanted a unique roof feature that could be seen from each property. The builders wanted a traditional looking roof turret but without the hassle of painting and maintaining the tower once it was installed, so it was manufactured in GRP as a lightweight alternative with a much longer life span than using wood. Manufacturing a bespoke Roof Turret such as this one required a timber pattern to be made, from which a mould was then taken. This mould was then used multiple times to create each side of the roof turret, which were then assembled to create the finished tower. This Roof Turret had a tongue and groove base skirt, which is a distinct...

Hexagonal Exterior Clocks

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Once again working with ‘G-Enviro’ in Saudi Arabia, Good Directions LTD produced and manufactured 3 Hexagonal bezel clocks for the Middle Eastern company. These clocks had a different brief from the ones previously manufactured. All these dials were to be a simple modern design, but also had to be in a hexagonal shape bezel instead of the standard round style. The design choice here was to allow the clocks to fit in with the existing aesthetic of the structures they were being installed on, which had a honeycomb pattern and design. The clocks were manufactured to be a feature on the structure, which was hiding a radio mast, to stop them being such an eye sore. These Hexagonal bezel clocks were all manufactured in GRP with acrylic dials and came in at a diameter of 1350mm. GRP (Glass Reinforced Plastic) has many advantages over traditional materials used in architecture and construction, one being the lightweight nature. GRP is perfect for these big installations as it is only 1/10 ...

HOIMI Clocks for Saudi Arabia

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 Clocks are a key architectural feature in many parts of the world and not just for telling the time but as a symbol of power and importance helping to make buildings stand out from the crowd. It was this exact reason why ‘G-Enviro’ in The Middle East got in contact with us regarding the manufacturing of clocks. G-Enviro is a leading company in Telecom full turn-key projects and manufacturer of traditional and non-traditional supporting structures. As part of the unusual structures they create to mask unsightly telecom masts, they were looking for large clocks to create a focal point.   ‘G-Enviro’ enquired all around the globe for who was the best manufacturer of large exterior clocks and after extensive research they decided that they wanted to work with a UK manufacturer and after discussing their needs with various companies they chose ‘Good Directions Ltd’. Having looked at our selection of clock dials they chose our Skeleton bezel clocks for their traditional style,...

Copper Camel 3D Weathervane

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Good Directions recently had the pleasure to manufacture a bespoke copper 3D weathervane as a retirement gift to one of our customers living overseas. One half cut out, next to paper for size. This copper weathervane was replicated from a pre-existing design of a weathervane and turned into a new and exciting product. We cut two camels out of copper sheet on our waterjet cutter, which were shaped and dressed with care and precision using a hammer and sandbags to individually form each half. These halves were then formed and structured around the support tubes on the inside of the camel to allow the weathervane to stand and rotate freely. Afterwards, they were soldered together to complete the 3D camel. The finishing touch of this weathervane came in the form of treating the copper to create a burnished patina, to give a beautiful weathered bronze effect allowing it to proudly stand out against the sky on the customers roof.   Engineers, shaping and moulding the camel. At Good Direc...

GRP Clock Towers and Cupolas

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As exterior clock and clock tower manufacturers this is a question that we are asked all the time and there are many good reasons why we use GRP. A Good Directions GRP clock tower on a cricket score board As exterior clock and clock tower manufacturers this is a question that we are asked all the time and there are many good reasons why we use GRP.    An abbreviation for 'glass reinforced polyester', GRP is a light, durable and astonishingly tough constructional material, which can be moulded and fabricated into all manner of products. When manufacturing our clock towers in GRP one side is first hand crafted in Ash timber from which a mould tool is produced. Ash timber is used for the original pattern to ensure the finished product has a beautiful realistic wood grain, unique to Good Directions clock towers, making them the most realistic looking on the market. An oxford style cupola with Traditional style clock and a rooster style copper weat...

Staff numbers increase to twenty one at Good Directions Ltd and still growing.

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Clock for school in Azerbaijan  Setting a machine    Good Directions Ltd recently moved to new premises in Botley, Hampshire to expand in-house manufacturing capabilities. As a family owned British company we are world leaders in the design, manufacture and installation of Exterior Clocks, Roof Turrets, GRP Structures and Copper Guttering. When moving to our new building we also took the fantastic opportunity of taking over a local engineering company, including their seven highly skilled staff and precision CNC machines for our new workshops. Our new 15,500 sq ft unit has been designed to cope with our growing manufacturing capabilities including large purpose built metal fabrication and CNC machine workshops, together with more offices offering the latest in computer technology, enabling us to provide a complete design service using the latest in 2D and 3D CAD CAM technology to customers wishing to create unique products.  Welding radius gutter   Technicians ...

Certificates for Customer Service qualifications received by Good Directions Ltd staff

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 Sales Advisors - Melanie (left) Maria (right)  At Good Directions Ltd we are lucky enough to have loyal staff that have been with us for many years, including two of our Sales Advisors - Melanie Cassie (who has been with us for eleven years) and Maria Rudd (who has been with us for five years.) Last year we were pleased to offer them both the opportunity to work through an NVQ and an Apprenticeship in Customer Services so that they could both obtain qualifications to support the work that they do every day. Having put in an enormous amount of effort, hours of study and thousands of words into their case studies, we are pleased to say that both have passed with flying colours and have now received their certificates. Both staff deal with our customers every day helping to quote our many products including exterior clocks, clock towers, weathervanes and copper guttering. For more information on all our products please visit our website http://www.good-directions.co.uk/ or contact...

Maria of Good Directions Ltd wins competition and donates the money to charity.

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 Maria (left) Dave, Melanie and Georgia On Friday Good Directions joined in the national 'Wear it Pink Day' by wearing pink clothes to work and donating £2 each to the breast cancer campaign. We also played the 'guess the next item on the washing line' game that was included in the charity pack. The organiser of the pink day (Rosalie) chose what she would next put on the washing line and everyone had to pay £1 to have a guess, with half the money raised going to the charity and the winner receiving the other half of the money. At the end of the day it was reveiled that Maria had chosen the correct item (a pair of knickers) but kindly donated her winnings to the charity instead of keeping it. Overall Good Directions Ltd staff raised well over £500 for the very worthy cause so a big well done and thank you to all the staff. To find out more about Good Directions Ltd please visit our website http://www.good-directions.co.uk/ . 

Good Directions purchase new premises in Botley to expand in-house manufacturing capabilities

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 New Factory and Head Office in Botley Hampshire  Good Directions Ltd is a world leader in the design, construction and installation of Exterior Clocks, Cupolas, GRP Structures and Weathervanes. Our Head Office and factory is based in Botley, Hampshire where we recently increased our in-house production capabilities by enlarging our metal fabrication workshop and employing new staff. It quickly became apparent that the premises we had could no longer cope with our requirements and we have now purchased a new unit nearby increasing our space from 3,500 sq ft to over 10,500 sq ft. Increased in-house metal fabrication workshop facilities The new unit has been designed to cope with our growing manufacturing capabilities including large purpose built metal fabrication and machine workshops, together with more offices offering the latest in computer technology, enabling us to provide a complete design service using the latest in 2D and 3D CAD CAM technology to customers wishing to crea...

As business grows Good Directions Ltd appoints a new General Manager.

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Having been with Good Directions Ltd for ten years now we were pleased to present Alan Gingell, our newly appointed General Manager, with a clock to celebrate his time with the company and to mark his recent promotion. Alan studied Art, Design, Accountancy and Business Studies at College before joining Spectrum Signs in 1994 as a trainee sign maker designing, manufacturing and installing signage nationwide. Skills acquired by means of both traditional hand tools and state-of-the-art CAD CAM systems. In 1997 Alan joined global sign maker Fast Signs as a graphic designer and sign maker in their Southampton branch and in 1998 was made branch co-ordinator covering all aspects of running the business. In March 2001 Alan joined Good Directions as a Production & Installation Technician to work within our newly accuired signage company ‘Swift Signs’ as well as helping with design and production elements within the core business. Alan's hard work and skills has seen him...

Good Directions shares welding tips with Italian partner on work experience.

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At Good Directions Ltd we have a long standing close relationship with an Architectural Features manufacturer in Italy and we recently had the pleasure of one of their members of staff coming over for two weeks to gain work experience with us and improve his English language skills at the same time. A talented fabricator whom has worked for ItalG for the last four years, Diego was keen to learn English techniques from our own experienced in-house team of fabricators and engineers. At Good Directions we offer a range of copper rainwater systems with three standard styles of gutter in two sizes. These often need to have special angle corners made to suit a customers exact requirements or even made to suit curved or completely round buildings. Our in-house capabilities also means we have the expertise to manufacture bespoke items such as customer designed copper hopper heads. Keen and enthusiastic Diego was a delight to have working along side us and soon picked up...