LOCAL electrical company, Lawrence Fairfield Limited, is celebrating 50 years in the business.
The Frome-based company was launched in 1971 when electrical engineer Lawrence Fairfield was hired for his first job at Minty’s in Frome to replace some lighting and was paid in tomatoes!
Since that ‘fruitful’ moment, Lawrence’s business grew, at its peak employing up to 30 people and working for many of the big local companies such as Longleat, Butler & Tanner, Avon Rubber and Badgerline (now First bus).
The business has gone on to weather several recessions, a global pandemic, and is still going strong – and with exciting plans to rebrand and relaunch the business in early 2022, the best is yet to come!
“My dad is really chuffed about the anniversary,” said Lawrence’s son, Adam Fairfield, who took over the reins to the business in 2007 when his father retired. “And it’s exciting for all of us here. It’s a proud moment to be celebrating 50 years; there are not that many businesses that have been around for as long as us!
“We really appreciate and are very grateful for the support from the Frome community over the years. There have been moments where we have really struggled, but our customers have been there for us offering work, keeping us going. It’s a pleasure to do business with people in the local community, and it’s fantastic that we have long-term customers that have been with us for the whole 50 years!”
Whilst the company has gone through several changes over the years in order to keep up with the dynamics of the service sector, ‘family values’ remain at the core of the company.
“My dad is still around although he is retired,” said Adam, “he still pops his head in and says hello on a regular basis. My aunty and wife also work for the business – we are quite a family-orientated business. And even those that aren’t related are still ‘part of the family’ – we have two senior electricians – Richard who has been with us 30 years, and Martin who has been with us for 20 years – who are just as much family; that’s how we run our business.
“And most of the electricians in Frome are part of that extended family – we have had many young electricians work as apprentices with us, with some going on to set up their own business. We have been at the heart of the Frome electrical movement for years!”
About what’s next for Lawrence Fairfield Limited? Adam said, “It’s been a strange couple of years because of the pandemic, but now we are out the other side of it, we are growing again and building things back up.
“Pre-Covid we were doing electrical work and property maintenance, but post-Covid we have dropped the property maintenance work and are focussing solely on electrical works again, both domestic and commercial – so next year we will call ourselves ‘Fairfield Electrical’ and have a relaunch in January – It’s a return to our roots and is very exciting.
“And because of the Government pushing everyone towards electric, it has really opened up the market – people are asking more about electric boilers, electric vehicle charging and renewables – so we want to be part of this movement and support the community with the switch to more environmentally-friendly energy sources.
“Next year will be a really exciting year for us – business starts at 50!”
For more information about Lawrence Fairfield Limited, visit their website: www.lawrencefairfield.co.uk or call 01373 464577
