
FSB Press Release
Issue date: Tuesday June 24 2008
WOLVERHAMPTON BUSINESS – FINALIST FOR TOP AWARD
Macey and Bond Marquee Company Ltd, based in Wolverhampton, are one of five Central area finalists for the British Small Business Championship Awards (BSBC) to be held on Thursday 26th June 2008 at The Welcombe Hotel, Stratford-upon-Avon. BSBC was founded by the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) in 2002. It is the only national awards scheme solely for small businesses. Its aims are to celebrate and heighten the profile of UK's small businesses.
Sara Murphy, MD of Macey and Bond, started the company with her father in 1993 and the company has gone from strength to strength. Most importantly the client base has continued to grow with interesting and highly prestigious accounts; the most recent of which was to supply the marquees for the official opening by the Queen together with senior members of the Royal Family, leading politicians and officials, at the National Memorial Arboretum last November (2007).
Despite suffering a major setback in September 2005, when a fire in the unit next door spread to Sara’s unit and completely gutted everything, including almost all of the company’s stock, plus its vehicles and business records, the company bounded back. Even during the intervening period not one customer was let down as, even whilst the fire brigade was dampening down the ashes, Sara was contacting customers with short term bookings to re-assure them that their bookings were secure and would be satisfied to Macey & Bond’s high expectation levels.
On Thursday, Macey & Bond, plus the other five BSBC 2008 area finalists, will be competing for the coveted title of Small Business Central Area Champion 2008, winning a cash prize of £1,000 to be spent to the benefit of their business.
The winner will then go forward to compete against the other five champions from across the UK, for the title of national champion 2008 whose prizes include £10,000 also to be spent on their business.
Karen Norris, Staffordshire and West Midlands Regional Organiser for the FSB said:
“BSBC is an excellent celebration of what makes British small businesses amongst the best in the world. The drive and determination shown by people like Sara to succeed, often against mounting odds, demonstrates a professionalism and commitment which continues to provide the backbone of our local economy. We wish Sara and all the finalists the very best of luck!”
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PR Feature,
March 2007:
Midlands Businesswoman Of The Year Has Received Further Recognition For Her Strong Determination
Left to right: Ian Dawson of Kayospruce who sponsored the Business of the Year Award, Sara Murphy of Macey & Bond, Paul Murphy of Macey & Bond and David Ramus, President of the Performance Textiles Association
Wednesfield based marquee hire company, Macey and Bond whose Managing Director, Sara Murphy is current Black Country Businesswoman of the Year, has won UK Marquee Business of the Year.
The award was given by the Performance Textiles Association in recognition of the company’s excellent recovery from a major fire in September 2005, which completely gutted its premises and destroyed all the marquee stock and vehicles.
Despite such devastation the company was operating from new premises with new stock in just 11 weeks; even though it had only been able to obtain a small interim insurance settlement and was still having to haggle for the balance, months later.
The Health & Safety Officer and Marquee Inspector assigned to judging Macey & Bond stated that it was one of the best and most organised marquee companies that they had inspected.
Since it was taken over by Sara in 2001 in conjunction with her father who unfortunately died in 2002, Macey & Bond has built an envious reputation amongst its contemporaries for the most stringent of health and safety standards and levels of training amongst its erection teams.
In turn, this has won it many prestigious contracts, including working with the BBC, Birmingham City Council and many blue chip companies. The company also provides marquees for weddings and special occasions and is able to support this with the organisation of catering and entertainment.
Bookings are already up for 2007 on 2006 levels and Sara, in her capacity of chair person for industry group AIM (Association of Independent Marquee Hire Companies), is currently working on promoting marquees for winter functions as they offer space, décor and warmth that matches the best of any function room interior, with the added flexibility of location and personal tailoring.
So far the company has been providing prestigious winter events at local hotels and stately homes over the Christmas period and they are looking to build on this by promoting this expertise to other venues looking to offer winter events, including public attractions, hotels and sports clubs.
32 year old Sara lives in Bloxwich and is married to Paul who is a Director and works within the business. Both attended the Performance Textiles Association’s gala meal at Telford’s Park Inn Hotel and were completely surprised with the award, especially as this is not the first time that the company has been a recipient. Sara first won Business Person Of The Year Award during 2002, in recognition for the excellent recovery from the industry devastation caused by the Foot & Mouth disease and then being able to drive the business forward after the sudden death of her father during the following year.
PR Feature,
December 2006:
Business Woman
Rises From the Ashes to Scoop Prestigious
Local Business Award. |
| Sara Murphy,
Managing Director of marquee hire company,
Macey & Bond was formally recognised for her
bold achievements at a recent Midlands business
awards ceremony. |
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In September 2005 the Wolverhampton based company went up
in flames when an arson attack in the unit
next door spread into its premises. The
fire completely gutted the unit, which at
the time held the company’s complete
stock of marquees and trucks. Determined
not to let this put an end to all her hard
efforts, Sara grafted long hours to satisfy
the bookings that she already had and to
maintain the company’s market presence
so that new enquiries and bookings continued
to come in.
At the same time, unwelcome
pressure was received as she had to wrangle
with insurance companies, who doubted the
amount of stock that she claimed to have
within the unit.
Despite these set backs, after
only 11 weeks the company was back to full
operation with a new replacement unit on
the same trading estate and most importantly
new state of the art stock. Taking the “Every
Cloud has a Silver Lining” approach,
rather than replace stock on a simple “New
for Old” basis, Sara completely re-assessed
her stock needs in line with her business
goals and purchased a different stock base
to that of her competitors, thus giving
added competitive edge. Sara then briefed
her long time marketing agency to capitalise
on this within a direct mail combined with
tele-marketing campaign. The net result:
The Company’s largest turnover to
date.
Impressed by her grit and
determination, plus her ability to kick
the trend of 80% of businesses failing to
recover from a major disaster, Sara’s
marketing agency, Sammy Rose Management
Services nominated her for Black Country
Business Woman of the Year.
The competition, organised
by Inspirational Women, a part of Black
Country Chamber of Commerce, attracted a
record number of entries and Sara was up
against high calibre competition. As such
she did not believe that she would come
out on top. However the judges were impressed
by her commitment, drive and team leadership
and as such awarded her the prize of business
Woman of the year for Wolverhampton and
then, Business Woman of the year Black Country.
The 31 year old married business
woman has had to bounce back from other
previous set backs to the business; firstly
in 2001 when the Foot & Mouth outbreak
prevented many outdoor events from taking
place and as such resulted in the company’s
turnover falling by 50% and then, a year
later when her father and business colleague
unexpectedly died. This left her running
a business within a male dominated industry.
As such she had to work hard to gain the
respect of customers, suppliers and even
her own erection staff, who made the assumption
that she could not possibly understand the
technical aspect of the business.
As well as coping with these
trials, Sara has never lost her focus on
making her company one of the best when
it comes to marquee provision and service.
In addition to priding themselves on providing
a high quality product, the company backs
this up with a stringent approach towards
health and safety. Site staff are trained
to NVQ level III, for Events In Temporary
Structures and the company were one of the
first marquee hire companies in the UK to
gain this qualification. This attitude has
rewarded them with exclusive contracts with
a range of major corporate companies, including
the BBC.
Deservingly this is not the
first time that Sara and her company has
been recognised for their excellence: In
2004 the Pertexa marquee inspector recognised
Macey & Bond as one of the most well
organised companies he has ever visited
and, in the same year the company’s
trade association MUTA marq named Sara Industry
Person of the Year.
Despite all the celebration
and recognition that has come with these
acknowledgements, Sara keeps her feet firmly
on the ground knowing that she cannot achieve
without support from family, staff and suppliers.
When she collected her award for Black Country
Business Woman of the Year Sara said, “This
has been an incredible year for Macey &
Bond, with the business continuing to grow
and develop. I am extremely proud to have
won Black Country Business Woman of the
Year and would like to take this opportunity
to thank everyone for their support”. |
PR Feature, December 2004:
Macey and Bond Covered More Events in 2004
Despite the damp Summer, bookings for
marquee company Macey & Bond continued to
rise, as their exclusive range means that even
when it is wet and cold outside, the inside can
reflect the most glamorous of occasions.
The company’s success in this area has been
marked by a string of events during 2004, which
has enabled the company to diversify into additional
market places.
Firstly the company’s managing director,
Sara Murphy was given ultimate recognition by
her industry colleagues, when her Trade Association
Performance Textiles named her industry business
person of the year back in March 2004.
Secondly, during the Spring the company moved
into larger premises to accommodate their growing
stock, which included the acquisition of larger
span structures and interiors. This has enabled
the company to begin supporting major launch events
where larger structures are required to accommodate
equipment for new product launches etc. The structures
also offer organisers of events, where large crowds
are expected, the facility to house these numbers
within a single area.
Two of the first users of the new marquees were
the BBC for their Antiques Road Show and London
College for their 3 week enrolment period.
The company pride themselves on following the
most stringent of health and safety procedures
in the industry and as such, are able to work
with key corporate names including the NEC and
Birmingham City Council. They continue to pioneer
new policies in this field in order to keep any
risks to both their own staff and their clients’
users to an absolute minimum.
The company are currently progressing their winter
programme, which has included providing the marquees
for the Christmas Fayre held at Shugborough hall
during the first weekend of December.
They are also in the process of overhauling their
web site, which will include full details on health
and safety policy and a users guide to hiring
a marquee. In the meantime if anyone requires
more information on marquee hire, then they should
contact Macey and Bond on 01902 630007
PR Feature, April 2004:
Female Honours in a
Man’s World
Sara Murphy, Managing Director of Macey
& Bond Marquee Company Ltd, was given ultimate
recognition by her industry colleagues when her
Trade Association Pertexa (The Performance Textile
Association) named her industry business person
of the year.
During the presentation ceremony it was acknowledged
that Sara was given the award because of her remarkable
endeavour, self will and determination to pull
the business through a number of set backs, in
a mainly male dominated industry.
Macey and Bond was severely affected by the foot
& mouth outbreak in 2001, which Sara and her
father worked hard to recover from, majoring on
providing a high quality product backed with ultimate
service. Then just over a year ago Sara’s
father died suddenly which was a major personal
tragedy for Sara and her family and a blow to
the business.
After receiving the award at the ceremony Sara
said “Usually you are forewarned of being
nominated for an award, or at least told you are
on a short list, but nothing was said and I had
no inkling that this was about to happen. I wish
my father could have been with me to receive the
award, he would have been so proud.”
Sara and her husband Paul who works alongside
her in the company, had returned from a trip to
Australia earlier that day and so were severely
jet lagged. However that did not stop them celebrating
well into the night.
Macey & Bond offer a range of marquees for
family and corporate occasions and as one of the
founder members of AIM (Associated Independent
Marquees) also have access to one of the largest
equipment stocks in the UK. Macey & Bond particularly
specialise in large events, offering marquees
and internal specifications to suit the client’s
requirements. One of the events they cover is
the annual Christmas Fair at Shugborough Hall,
where their marquees provide different theme areas,
including an exhibition marquee and an entertainment
marquee, to name just two.
Macey & Bond pride themselves on providing
a high quality product supported by a professional
quality service. This is backed up by their commitment
to health and safety, the company insist that
to try and give ultimate protection, their site
staff are trained to NVQ level III, for Events
In Temporary Structures; Paul Murphy being the
second person in the UK to gain this qualification.
This attitude has rewarded them with exclusive
contracts with a range of major corporate companies
and to a point where the Pertexa marquee inspector
Mike Bunting recognised Macey & Bond as one
of the most well organised companies he has ever
visited.
Never complacent the company also, post the Foot
and Mouth problems, invested, with support from
Business Link, in on-going marketing support to
ensure that they are proactively pursuing new
corporate business opportunities. This is backed
up with extensive regional advertising to attract
private parties and weddings.
Due to their expansion into larger structures
to cater for more prestigious events, Macey &
Bond have recently relocated to larger premises
in Wolverhampton.
PR Feature, February 2003:
Health & Safety
is Paramount
The marquee industry, with the help of
M.U.T.A. (Made Up Textile Association) are confirming
its positive commitment to on site health and
safety; some operators see it as a necessary evil
and subsequently only meet the minimum needs.
However M.U.T.A. members, and one marquee company
in particular, are committed to bucking the trend
and, as a result, have secured some highly prestigious
contracts.
Walsall based Macey & Bond are committed to
identifying and meeting all health and safety
concerns, so that they provide care for their
employees, their clients’ employees and
any subsequent users of their marquees.
The company demonstrate this commitment by presently
being only one of three marquee hire companies
in the country to have erection staff qualified
to NVQ level 3 in Events and Temporary Structures.
This achievement is giving them access to securing
some of the most prestigious contacts around,
as more and more major names such as the NEC envisage
that in the foreseeable future, contractors will
only work with marquee companies whose staff carry
this qualification.
In addition Macey and Bond have developed a product
service that responds to the needs of such major
clients, in terms of marquee types and internal
requirements. One of their most recent large events
was to provide a complex of marquees for the Shugborough
Hall Christmas Festival.
The complex comprised of an entrance; exhibition
hall for crafts demonstrations and stalls; food
hall promoting festive foods and wines and included
a cookery demonstration area; and finally a catering
and dining area that in addition featured a theatre
area for seasonal acts.
Accordingly to Sara Murphy, the company’s
business development director, the greatest challenge
was to design a layout that would fulfil the client’s
expectations by meeting all of these varying needs,
comfortably holding the numbers expected and bearing
in mind the catering activities would be safe.
The layout took 4 days to erect and 3 days to
dismantle. Being winter, it had to contain all
the comforts of indoors, particularly with reference
to heating; with durable practicality, as many
people walked across muddy car parks on their
way in.
Consequently inside there was a combination of
wooden floors and carpets, the latter being colour
coordinated to define different exhibition areas.
This was complimented with drapes and a range
of lighting, varying from exhibition spots to
chandeliers.
Finally there were staging areas and facilities
for TV crews. To ensure that all went to plan;
before, during and after the event 2 event organisers
were constantly on hand to respond to on-going
needs. During the 4 days of the show, 10,000 people
attended. The project was such a success that
Macey and Bond are already working with Shugborough
Hall on planning this year’s event.
Before then the company have to work through a
comprehensive diary of Spring, Summer and Autumn
events, that vary from intimate weddings through
to major product launches. |