21 June, 2021 - From its headquarters in Washington, Tyne & Wear, Canford manufactures and distributes professional audio equipment. Approaching its 45th anniversary, the Canford brand is renowned and widely respected, both for quality of service and diversity of stock lines on offer.
Canford is an experienced exporter, with almost 40% of its revenue derived from international sales. The company was as prepared for Brexit as it was possible to be. Significant efforts were made to ensure that EU customers understood Canford would be continuing “business as usual” for them.
Following the UK’s eventual departure from the EU, Canford has continued to move goods swiftly, absorbing any additional costs and shielding customers from the additional inconvenience and formalities.
Canford has provided critical broadcast solutions for Live Music Events, Sports Broadcasting and even the occasional Royal Ceremony. Recently the team responded to an enquiry from long-standing customer Johnny Saunderson, a freelance broadcast cameraman/editor and film maker based in Austria.
Johnny Saunderson explains:
"I am a freelance broadcast cameraman/editor and film maker for over thirty years.
Based in Austria for the last fifteen years, I have always primarily covered hard news across the world, mostly for the American and British broadcasters, but I squeeze in the occasional corporate shoot and even music videos, though I find them much harder work than news.
I used to specialise only in conflict zones, progressing from the riots of my native Northern Ireland to cover some thirteen major conflicts across the world, including both Gulf Wars, Bosnia, Somalia, Afghanistan and so on.
My first contact with Canford was in May 1998 when I bought a Coles lip microphone, which I used extensively for news edits with BBC, Channel Four News, CNN and ABC News.
Since 2014, I have been regularly covering events for the European Broadcasting Union/Eurovision around the world, mostly news events such as political summits, but also the Song Contest.
Less than a week before leaving for this year's Contest in Rotterdam, my producer informed me that I might need at least two handheld microphones for those occasions when two presenters would be in front of the camera. I needed a microphone that exactly matched my Beyer Dynamic and I needed it in a hurry. Could Canford deliver?
Of course they could, pulling out all the stops to get the microphone to me in just a couple of days. I half-expected some sort of delay due to Brexit formalities with customs, but it arrived at my door without any hassle.
And I did need it! I had both Stéphane Bern and Laurence Boccolini, two of France's biggest television stars, in front of my camera, jumping around and waving their flags as the final started.
The day before, I also had James Newman going "live" on ITV's breakfast show and I gave him the honour of being the first to use my new microphone!
I have to say, dealing with Canford was not just simple and hassle-free, it was a real pleasure as they responded to my needs quickly and without fuss. And it is so nice these days to deal with people who are friendly and helpful. I had a problem and they solved it.
I can only recommend Canford to anyone, both within and outside the UK, who needs a professional service and I can genuinely say thank you."
The team at Canford would like to express their thanks to Johnny for taking the time to write this much appreciated review.
For further information about Canford’s International Sales Team, please contact: international@canford.co.uk