Static Safe Environments Ltd is 40 years old this year…
Back in the 70s, a bright young manager called Dave Hawkes was selling industrial storage and handling equipment for a Birmingham based company called Welconstruct. Dave had a background in electronics and he managed to persuade his boss (who couldn’t wire a plug, let alone quote you Ohm’s Law) that there was a brand new market for products and services to control ESD in the electronics industry.
ESD Control, 1970s style.
His boss might have not have been an electronics expert, but he recognised a good bloke, a good idea and a new market. Between them they set up a department within Welconstruct, modified existing products the company were manufacturing at the time, and designed and sourced some new ones themselves.
So, in 1978, with a desk and Trimphone proudly installed in the corner of the office and fliers printed and ready for mailing, Static Safe Environments was up and running.
The new venture was so successful that by the early 80s SSE had been promoted from ‘Department of…’ to ‘Trading Division of…’ Welconstruct. New products were then added to the range, technical reps taken on, a mail-order catalogue was printed and Static Safe Environments was well on its way to becoming the leading supplier of ESD control products it is today.
Static Safe Environments Ltd is now entirely independent, has moved into and outgrown three different premises since those early days. The company is installed in its own factory/offices in Stourbridge from where it despatches a large range of stock items and manufactures its own purpose built ESD benches, the aluminium framed Kitehawke bench range.
Dave Hawkes may have been retired from Static Safe Environments for a while, but SSE continues to provide the expert technical services and first class ESD products first dreamed up by Dave 40 years ago.