Our History
The Beginning - 1989
On a cold November morning in 1989 SWR begins life operating from a small store and workshop in Hemel Hempstead. John Bates created the company under the name Steel Wire Rope Ltd with one focus area, supplying full reels of wire rope.
BS5750 Quality Accreditation - 1994
SWR become the first totally independent UK wire rope supplier to achieve BS5750 quality accreditation recognising the strong quality ethos held by its owners.
2nd Move - 1997
Further growth beckoned along with a need to modernise. Jason Lee is appointed Managing Director and SWR moves to its current location in Eastman Way, Hemel Hempstead to further improve the maufacturing processes and quality. Production of larger diameter stainless steel assemblies is increased and remains a speciality today.
ISO9001 Quality Accreditation - 1999
Working closely with NQA, SWR achieve another milestone reflecting their “commitment to quality” by successfully achieving ISO9001 at the first attempt.
We Need More Space, Again! - 2004
SWR doubles in size by taking over the adjoining premise in Eastman Way, Hemel Hempstead to cover 15,000 sq/ft as well as securing a separate 10,000 sq ft storage facility also located in Hemel Hempstead.
Website Launch - 2010
SWR launched swr-balustrade.co.uk to help bringing our brand and product range to the online market.
Company Values - 2011
Working closely with the employees, SWR develops a set of company values based upon the aim of creating a truly great company, both to deal with and to work for.
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SWR is Still Growing - 2016
SWR aim to be a supplier of great value to our customers and employees with quality and innovation at the heart of everything we do. Today we have 55 great people (and counting), 5 key values, 4 million unique website visitors and 1,000’s of satisfied customers worldwide.
New Responsive Website - 2017
SWR's in-house graphic design and web development teams created a custom responsive website to improve our customers online experience.
Investors in People Silver Award! - 2017
The Investors in People Standard is a framework of best practice, awarded to well-run organisations that meet set criteria in areas including learning and development, leadership skills, as well as recognition and reward.
Jason Lee - Managing Director
“We were delighted to be awarded the Silver award on our first time of applying, which less than a quarter of IIP companies ever achieve."
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