It’s been a month of superlatives for Special EFX – the biggest award, our fastest turnaround, our most collectable gift and the best apprentice... If you would like to find out more, drop us an email, give us a call on 01789 450005 or visit our website

Redactive, the award-winning media group, contact Special EFX whenever they need to commission awards for their clients: “Their creative ideas are spot on the brief, there is nothing formulaic about their approach, and our clients are always delighted with the end results”, explains Event Organiser, Rebecca Montwill.  The recent CIPD Recruitment Awards are the most recent success. 

A new account for Redactive, the brief was to revamp and modernise the existing design to give the 30 awards a sleek and “funky” makeover, which Special EFX achieved with a black anodised aluminium base, impressively heavy to hold, crowned with a plated nickel, brass spring, which oxidised, with amazing rainbow effects.  The awards were presented, at the CIPD Awards dinner held at the Grand Connaught Rooms on July 7, and once again Redactive got full marks from their client.

www.redactive.co.uk

Special EFX have designed and manufactured the 2010 FIM British Speedway Grand Prix award: it is gargantuan!  In fact, it’s the largest aluminium award EFX have ever made, at 488mm tall and 450mm wide and 96mm deep, weighing 10 kgs, and made from polished aluminium, with four-colour screen-printed logo, with a detachable nameplate. The special 10th anniversary event was held at Millennium Stadium in Cardiff and the award was handed to the winner Chris Holder from Australia.

It proved to be a dream project for Liz Pike, EFX’s Designer of the award and biking enthusiast, who was kindly sent two tickets for the British SGP in Cardiff, by the organisers!

www.speedwaygp.com

Whilst many customers know EFX for our designer awards, we are also very active in corporate gifts: in fact we started out in the Birmingham Jewellery Quarter, back in 1971, designing and making engraved, hallmarked silver gifts such as BA Concorde in-flight key rings, money clips, luggage tags and wine labels.

Andrew Brown, a collector of wine labels, out in Australia, recently contacted us to ask for information about one he had acquired, which featured the Olympic circles, torch and the inscription ‘Birmingham 1992’, which he thought resembled the design for the Concorde wine labels.  He was right, and it is certainly quite a find, as EFX only made a small limited edition, in support of Birmingham’s bid for the Olympics, and Andrew has one of less than 30 ever made.

To mark the 2012 Olympics we have introduced the Podium collection of awards –
I wonder if they will become collector’s items?

We received the telephone call on the Friday from Jim Mylott of Morgan Sindall PLC – what could we suggest for an official opening of The Manufacturing Technology Centre Ansty…the following week.  Huge apologies that it was rather short notice, but could we help? This rather stunning spanner, made from solid aluminium, complete with relevant logos and official text, was ready for collection the following Wednesday.
The CEO’s of Morgan Sindall, Advantage West Midlands and East Midlands Development Agency..... performed the ceremony.
 
The joys of having everything, from sales to design to manufacturing and then onto engraving, all on one site - here at Ettington Park!

EFX have built an enviable reputation on the platforms of design, technical innovation and modern manufacturing, and so we were lucky to recruit Tom Bowden last September. Tom had just completed his NVQ level 2 in Mechanical Engineering at Stratford-upon-Avon College, and was due to start Level 3 on a day-release basis.

His first three month period was spent laser engraving: learning the complexities of converting bitmap artwork into vector programmes and dealing with the vagaries of widely differing materials and finishes. He then moved on to our machining facility, using both traditional, manual machines and sophisticated CNC, and is also becoming competent in Solidworks three-dimensional industrial design.

Tom is a real asset to the EFX team : works hard, listens well, keen to learn…what more can you ask?