Keith Bradford, Wescom Group’s marine product and customer services manager, has celebrated 40 years of working with the company.
Keith joined the company as marine product manager for Pains Wessex in 1985 after apotting an advert in Marketing Week magazine.
Having already supplemented his degree with a post graduate qualification in marketing, and with experience gained as a ship’s agent and then as a marketing executive, Keith was offered the role based at High Post in Salisbury, UK.
He soon progressed through the ranks to the roles of marketing manager of safety products, to sales and marketing manager, then product manager under the new owners Chemring Group.
Being required to transport celebratory swords internationally was often a challenge.
Keith Bradford
Latterly he has been product and customer services manager for Wescom Group.
One of Keith’s main roles throughout his 40-year career has been to support worldwide sales and distribution of marine safety products.
Over the years he has worked with long-term international distributors for the company’s brands of Pains Wessex, Comet, and Wescom Group.
As marketing manager, it fell to Keith to organise the annual awards for sales achievement – usually presented at MET – and for the winning distributor to be presented with a Wilkinson Sword, a reminder of the early days when Pains Wessex was owned by a group including Wilkinson.
New product development
“Being required to transport celebratory swords internationally was often a challenge,” recalled Keith.
“The biggest failure was being unable to deliver a distributor’s award-winning sword to – of all places – Japan.”
Other roles Keith has managed include working with R&D on new product development, obtaining international type approvals, producing data sheets and multi-language labels, budgeting, stock ordering and control and overseeing internal and external teams including PR services.
International committees
Keith is known throughout the industry for his work at Wescom and also for his work sitting on various international committees representing the marine safety sector.
He also works with safety organisations such as the RNLI.
“I have been privileged to work with the world’s best marine safety and life-saving products. Having the right product in the right place at the right time is paramount,” he said.
“If a ship cannot obtain the correct Line Thrower or Man Overboard device in time and is delayed from sailing, that costs a fortune, so having the world’s best distribution and sales network to supply them is vital.”
Emergency situations
He concluded: “I have been blessed to have a job I still enjoy with a world-leader in what we do, with so many amazing colleagues worldwide.
“Working for a company that contributes to saving lives in emergency situations at sea worldwide is incredibly fulfilling.”
To mark his 40 years with the company, he was presented with a personalised pack of pyrotechnics and a cake cut with a traditional Wilkinson Sword.
