25 year anniversary

Video transcript:

Steve: It’s difficult to imagine that we started from such small beginnings and have ended up with a product that’s installed in so many buildings.

There was a deaf teacher with deaf children and they couldn’t hear the audible fire alarm. We realised we could create a product that will get over that problem.

Chris Haseldine: Shortly after the company was founded, the disability discrimination act – the DDA – really took effect. So in the early 2000s, the company went through significant growth.

Hayley: The company was very different to us as it is now. It was a very small company. There wasn’t very many of us.

Chris H: It was such a great feeling both for myself but also throughout the whole company when we got our first big university-wide install.

Ian: We initially started off with our one product – Deaf Alerter – and then we launched Refuge Alerter in 2008.

Chris H: Our products are used in all sorts of buildings across the UK from the oldest royal palaces up to the most modern buildings.

Ian: Not only do we provide a solution, it’s making certain that we’re compliant with that. We’ve always been compliant with the current standards and that’s the key thing.

Hayley: I think our customers think that we are reliable and dependable. Quite a few of the customers have been with us a very long time. The proudest moment is when I can send that email saying that ‘we finished; the customer’s happy; the job’s done’.

Ian: Why has Alerter Group been so successful over 25 years? I think the answer is in the products. We developed the business behind a solution for Deaf people and people with physical disabilities.

Chris H: Over the whole life of the business, we’ve heavily invested in research and design.

Chris Francis: One of the big advantages to Alerter Group is we have our own R&D department. So, it means that we’re in charge of all of our products. We design them, spec them, and we’re in control of production.

We do listen to customers feedback. We don’t just put a product out there thinking ‘oh this is what we want it to do’. We listen to what the customers are asking us and put their features into it as well if we can do.

Chris F: We also install and maintain our own product. Everything about Alerter Grouper is done by our own team of people. Every site is slightly different. So every system is slightly different as well.

We don’t just do off-the-shelf, standard kits. We do a system that is bespoke to a site depending on the customer requirements.

Mark: My name’s Mark. I’m a Eystems Engineer and I’ve been at Alerter Group for seven years this August.

Tom: My name is Tom Francis. My current role is Field Engineer. I was a Junior Engineer.

Eve: Hi, I’m Eve. I’m the Management Accountant at Alerter Group. I started when I was just a little 18-year-old as an Apprentice.

Laura: Since I started at Alerter Group in January, from literally day one, they’ve been nothing but supportive. Everyone has been so, so lovely.

Tim: I’m a Senior Engineer, been working here for 20 years. I started as an Installation Engineer, worked my way up through various roles within the engineering department.

Tom: When I started, I know for me I was quite nervous. I’ve had some great managers, you know, that have challenged me. You know, they’ve really helped me progress throughout my career.

Mark: One thing I like about Alerter, it’s been able to continue my career of saving lives through technology.

Hayley: We have a good culture here. I think everybody is always prepared to get stuck in and get the job done. It’s a really great company to work for.

Laura: It feels really nice to work for a company that has such a good moral compass. I can tell that every single person here really does care. You know, it means a lot to everyone.

Tim: It’s nice to know that what you’re doing is having a positive impact.

Ian: The future for Alerter Group is exciting.

Chris H: The company’s had great growth over the last few years and that’s predicted to carry on for the next few years. I can definitely see for the next few years there’s going to be many, many more exciting new developments coming out.

Ian: So as the world is becoming more accessible – hopefully it’s becoming more accessible – our products are being used more and more as they quite rightly should be.

Chris H: Whilst we’ve continued to innovate with new products, we’ve always continued to develop our existing products and just this year we’ve launched our Night Alerter.

Ian: Our products are leading products within their areas. We’re now having conversations with partners globally. This really excites me because not only our products are offering solutions that are compliant in the UK, we’re adapting them to suit other standards in the rest of the world.

Hayley: It feels really good being part of something that has a 25 year legacy.

Steve: And to have achieved this from just a one-off job in Derby is just amazing.

Hayley: Yeah, it’s brilliant.

Chris H: Thank you to all of the staff and suppliers and customers for the last 25 years. I’d like to say we’re only a quarter of the way there. You know, we want to keep going for many, many more years to go.