SAFES
SPONSORED BY DUFFELLS
KEEPING ALIVE
OUR TRADITIONAL
SAFEMAKING HERITAGE
SMP Security began trading in 1974
when founder Clifford Skitt started making
quality British cash safes, coin cabinets,
deposit safes and bespoke units.
SMP quickly acquired a good
reputation for its products
throughout the industry.
As a result, business was
flourishing and Clifford’s
son, Paul, then joined the
company to assist with the
running of the business.
It was also around this time
that SMP decided to take
the opportunity to purchase
SLS Safes. SLS Safes was
an established and trusted
name within the industry for
producing high quality safes
for the banking industry and
this acquisition continued to
strengthen the SMP brand.
Since then, SMP has
continued to produce a range
of high quality products and is
now a main supplier to more
than 18 countries.
In 2013, SMP Security
joined Associated Security
and became part of a wider
network of lock and safe
engineers covering the whole
of the UK.
The group has more than
70 years’ experience in the
industry, providing its products
and services to banking, retail,
gaming and pharmaceutical
industries plus many more.
BIG BUYING POWER –
BUT FAMILY VALUES
Associated Security is also
a family-run business so
shares the same values as SMP
Security. The group has been
built on the philosophy of
providing excellent customer
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MAR/APR 2014
service, supported by the
group’s massive buying power
and working closely with its
customers. This means that
the group is now in a position
to deliver the best possible
solutions while maintaining
real value for money.
“Merging these two strong
companies, has enabled us
to provide a comprehensive,
one-stop solution and, more
importantly, to keep safe
manufacturing alive in the
UK for years to come,” said
Stephen Turner, CEO.
“SMP strives to be the
pioneers of modern safe design
and to be internationally
recognised among the finest
manufacturers of physical
security equipment. Our
dedication to quality standards
of the highest levels is
supported by certification from
the British Standards Institute,
Loss Prevention Certification
Board & VdS”
.
“SMP still makes safes in the
traditional way, carrying out
each stage in different areas
of the factory and working
on small batches at a time.
They are highly revered in
the industry as being some of
the best quality safes you can
buy and we are committed to
keeping this valuable legacy
going,” he added.
In the factory in Telford, there
are three main areas to the
manufacturing department:
the Press Shop, Fabrication and
a Spray Booth area.
The first stage takes place in
the Press Shop, where all the
individual components are
made.
Afterwards, the cutting,
bending and forming of
material is carried out and
the shape of the safe starts to
come together. The material
is pierced and notched and
is then ready for assembly.
Skilled workers use guillotines,
presses, a plasma machine and
piercing machines to complete
the works.
The next stage is the
Fabrication where all the
components are put together,
but this is split into two
sections.
Firstly, the aluminium is
melted down and all the internal
fillings, including concrete, for
the safe door are poured in.
Once the door is filled the bolt
work is then installed before it is
completed.
Next, the body of the
safe is assembled from the
components passed from the
previous stage. This includes
welding and grinding to give a
secure manufacture.
Once the door and the body
have been built, the two are
then assembled together and
the door is hung.
The last step is the Spray
Booth where the safe is taken
through paint preparation,
painting and finally lock fitting
and furnishing to customer
specifications.
Once the safe is complete,
it is wrapped and stored
until dispatch by one of the
group’s teams based across the
country.
“We also sell our safes to
other distributors and install
all across the world and due
to the high quality, reliability
of the products and lifetime
safe body guarantee, the
Community range still remain
best sellers after 60 years,”
Stephen explained.
“We are also still
manufacturing parts for SLS
safes so if your customers
have older safes and you
are struggling to get rare or
obsolete parts, we might be
able to help.
If you would like any
information on buying
our safes or parts, we have
numerous showrooms and
any of our sales team can
advise you if you visit the
website: www.smp-security.
co.uk or call us on +44
(0)1952 585673.
To read more, visit www.locksmithjournal.co.uk