Founded in 1979 and employing more than 700 people in the UK, Midwich Group PLC is a specialist audio visual distributor operating globally within a wide range of corporate markets including Government, Military and Education. As a trade-only distributer they are unique in their sector and provide number one and two brands with everyone they deal with.
Their head office in Bracknell employs more than 50 staff members and is located in the aptly named Innovation House – a 50,000 square foot state-of-the-art training and event facility that boasts the UK’s largest multi-brand experience centre and showcases more than 200 world-leading audio-visual brands.
Visitors to Midwich are given a unique opportunity to view a wide range of products from 50 world-renowned manufacturers, side by side and all under one roof; from cameras and mics, to integrated software and training solutions. Whilst there they can also take advantage of dedicated training, testing and demonstration facilities.
Kevin Morrison is the Finance and Operations Director at the Bracknell site, he said, “Our staff have a huge amount of knowledge in the industry and across all the major brands and provide guidance, knowledge, and training support to help visitors define and create the perfect technology solutions for their or their customer’s needs.
“Our multi-million-pound facility enables us to bring together vendors, resellers, consultants, and end users across the industry in one custom-built location and we are able to provide dedicated training rooms, a R&D demonstration area, a service and repair centre, as well as warehousing facilities including specialist logistics and pre-delivery inspection.”
Knowledge sharing
Operating a packed events calendar throughout the year, Midwich provides training and advice around new technologies and unified communications to the corporate marketplace across the globe through roadshows and targeted events like their Tech Xpo.
Passionate about innovation, they pride themselves on having the latest and most pioneering display technology and superior technical support and logistics services, but it’s their expertise, and people-orientated ethos that is central to their success and what they say gives them their competitive advantage.
Through a range of community initiatives, and led by an in-house Engagement Lead, employees are given the opportunity to volunteer their time during working hours and give back to a worthwhile cause, many of which are voted for by staff themselves. Valuing the things that make their people individuals helps create a culture of inclusion within the organisation whilst making a real difference to the communities in which they operate.
Environmental impact
Conscious of their broader environmental responsibilities, the business is taking positive steps towards environmental good practice and reducing any negative impact and they have ambitious plans to become carbon neutral by 2025.
“As a global business, energy efficiency is a huge focus for us and we’re always looking at how we can influence the channel to stop people utilising too much carbon. We’ve already built power management systems into a lot of the products that are installed at Innovation House, and this is a big part of our ongoing brand strategy. On a local level, we have made a real effort to eliminate single-use plastics at our Bracknell site especially during our events and recycle as much as we can included the packaging in the warehouse. Furthermore, we harness the sun’s power through solar panels installed on the roof.”
Bracknell – the ideal location
With more than 2,000 visitors to their purpose-built site each year, Bracknell offers the perfect location for Midwich with easy and convenient routes into London and many major towns, not to mention ample parking space for both their employees and event attendees. They have been proud members of the Bracknell BID since the very beginning and see huge value in their collective responsibility. Kevin said, “I think it’s important to know your neighbour, if it’s a problem for them it’s a problem for us as well – a problem shared is a problem halved. It’s important to be part of and represent the area and we would want other businesses to share the same values. We like to play our part and have enjoyed several of the BID events already including hosting a business breakfast here on site”.
To find out more about Midwich and the services and products they offer, please visit midwich.com