Thinking Space helps the UK 's traffic flow with control room upgrades

A leading supplier of specialist technical furniture has played a critical role in the upgrade of three of the country's major traffic monitoring centres.

Thinking Space Systems, an award-winning Hampshire-based firm, undertook the contracts with a total value of £650K for Walsall local authority, Bristol City Council and Sheffield City Council.

In Bristol , the Thinking Space team assisted in the relocation of the city's urban traffic control centre. The contract included five bespoke desks for eight operators, a 15 x 40” LCD screen wall in addition to 24-hour chairs.

The project, which was part of a £0.5 million upgrade by Bristol City Council, also required a glass partition with suspended ceiling, lighting and air conditioning. Thinking Space project-managed all building work installation and furniture.

Wayne Palmer, Thinking Space's Managing Director said, “Investment in traffic control centres has really stepped up in recent years and it is great to have been selected to undertake these prestigious projects.

“The new environments incorporate the latest technology and ergonomic technical furniture. Skilled operating staff now work in state of the art environments which will help minimise delays and congestion,” added Wayne, who founded the Romsey business five years ago.

The two-phase refurbishment of Walsall 's urban traffic control room saw a significant improvement of the monitoring and management of incidents and congestion on the authority's road network. In the first phase, Thinking Space designed and built a professional and practical control room and in the second phase, it extended the monitor wall using its unique aluminium extrusion system, to facilitate two more 40” LCD monitors. It also installed a control desk to seat up to five operators and incorporated chairs, mobile drawer pedestals, PC bays and cable management features.

The most recently completed contract was a design and build refurbishment project for Sheffield City Council's new road traffic management centre, which was project-managed by Thinking Space. An existing office floor was transformed to include a control room, server room, meeting room, kitchen and large open office area. The firm also provided two large three-operator consoles for the control room .

Thinking Space is a global provider of high-quality technical furniture and offers its clients the complete solution including the supply of furniture, lighting and decoration as well as complete project management and full building work. It recently won Small Business of the Year at the IAB's Business Enterprise Awards.

July 2008
Thinking Space scoops top business award

One of the UK 's most innovative firms has been selected as ‘Business of the Year' at a prestigious national awards ceremony. Thinking Space Systems, a leading supplier of specialist technical furniture for control room environments, was ‘Joint Winner' in the category at the 2008 IAB Business Enterprise Awards.

The IAB Business Enterprise Awards 2008, now in its 10 th year, aims to encourage and support best practice across the small business sector by rewarding the efforts of individuals and companies whose work might be overlooked.

Thinking Space, based in Romsey, Hampshire, was founded five years ago by Managing Director Wayne Palmer. The business began life in Wayne 's dining room and now operates out of a sterile unit with a team of 13 and services clients both nationally and internationally.

“Winning the award is an incredible honour and quite a surprise,” said Wayne, who was presented with the award by Fabian Hamilton MP at the ceremony held at the House of Commons.

“It is a great privilege to be publicly rewarded for the hard work, determination and loyalty the whole team has shown. The award has been a real boost to us all and I am delighted that the judges felt Thinking Space deserved to win,” added Wayne , whose business has been supported by Lloyds TSB since it was founded.

February 2008
Firm makes space for Somerset 's new CCTV room

Experts at a Hampshire company have played a key role in the recent transformation of a West Country council CCTV control room.

Thinking Space Systems, a leading supplier in the design and build of bespoke technical furniture, was brought on board to assist in the upgrade of Weston Super Mare's security suite located in the Town Hall. The firm provided made to measure furniture, screens and surrounds for the visuals.

Chris Harrison, Weston Super Mare's Control Manager said, “This was an extensive project which required skill, precision and expertise. The upgraded security suite is fantastic and now brings the Council's CCTV monitoring facilities in line with our contemporaries.

“We are delighted with the high-quality, innovative and aesthetic results from the Thinking Space team. The service was first class and the furniture was designed and made exceptionally well,” added Chris.

The project in Weston Super Mare involved a team of top suppliers and changes to the room included substantial building works and the lowering of the ceiling.

Wayne Palmer, Managing Director at the Romsey company said, “Every brief is unique with its own challenges and requirements and working closely with the other suppliers was key to the project's success.

“We ensured the technical furniture provided was versatile, featured robust components and enhanced the safety and comfort of the staff who work in the CCTV room,” added Wayne .

This is the second council security room Thinking Space has completed in as many months. At the end of last year the firm played an important role in the two-phase upgrade of Bournemouth Borough Council's CCTV control room for which it designed and supplied cabinets, consoles and special enclosures for projection units.

January 2008
KANYA sales exec joins

Thinking Space Systems has brought James Myall on board in a newly created sales role dedicated to KANYA, the prestigious Swiss extrusion system for which the company is the exclusive UK distributor.

KANYA is an innovative, versatile and robust aluminium extrusion and component system used by the UK 's manufacturing industry in structural design.

James joins the company, which was established in 2003 and is based in Romsey, at an exciting time of growth and expansion with a number of large and prestigious projects underway. His position involves driving and developing sales of the product in the UK .

Managing director Wayne Palmer said: “KANYA has rapidly become widely recognised and sought after in the UK and bringing James on board to oversee and move sales forward was a natural next step.

“James' sales experience, motivation and knowledge of the product means he is ideal to help raise the profile of KANYA and to ensure its continued growth. We are delighted to welcome him onboard,” said Wayne .

James, 24 from Winchester , has more than five year's experience in sales and has been to the KANYA's head office in Switzerland for product training.

“Being able to focus solely on KANYA is a fantastic challenge,” said James. “I am looking forward to increasing KANYA sales, widening our customer base and targeting new industries.”

Thinking Space builds for the future with council control room upgrade

A leading supplier in the design and build of bespoke technical furniture has played an important role in the recent upgrade of Bournemouth Borough Council's CCTV control room.

Thinking Space Systems, a Hampshire-based firm, was brought on board for the two-phase contract. The first phase was to move and upgrade the consoles from the existing control room and the second was to install the altered consoles and new technical furniture in a new control room.

The experts at Thinking Space designed and supplied cabinets, consoles, and special enclosures for projection units.

Wayne Palmer, managing director at the Romsey company said: “No two control rooms are the same and the beauty of the service we offer is that it's bespoke.

“The brief for the Bournemouth's CCTV control room was specific. The furniture had to be suitable for current requirements but also expandable and able to be modified for future use. Technology is constantly changing and with this is mind, the furniture was designed with versatile features,” said Wayne.

Nic Anscombe, Business Development Manager for Automated Systems Services and PM and system designer for the Bournemouth Borough Council project, said, “The comfort of the staff and the ease of operating within the CCTV control room is of paramount importance.

“The control room is the nerve centre for monitoring the safety and security of Bournemouth's residents and Thinking Space has delivered a first class solution to a challenging brief. The furniture is superbly designed and manufactured and features changeable elements to enable its prolonged use,” added Nic.

Thinking Space Systems is a global provider of high-quality technical furniture and offers the complete solution including the supply of furniture, lighting and decoration as well as complete project management and full building work.

The firm has 20 year's experience in the design and supply of elegant yet durable furniture for demanding environments including air traffic control, CCTV and broadcasting. Thinking Space's prestigious clients include city councils, police authorities, BAE, Jaguar, Siemens, Sony and the RAF.

NEW SALES REP MARKS A YEAR OF KANYA SUCCESS FOR THINKING SPACE

A leading supplier of custom design and build technical furniture is celebrating a year's success as the exclusive UK distributor for Kanya, the prestigious Swiss aluminium build system, by appointing a new Kanya-dedicated sales representative.

Thinking Space Systems took over the distribution of Kanya following Alusett's closure last year and since adding Kanya to its product portfolio, UK sales of the range have risen sharply.

To mark a year of successful distribution of the innovative, versatile and robust Swiss aluminium extrusions and components, Thinking Space invited the team from Kanya to its new premises in Romsey, Hampshire.

Paul Roberts, the UK Sales Manager for Thinking Space, said “The last 12 months have been extremely encouraging as we've seen a fantastic rate of growth in Kanya sales.”

Kanya is high quality, engineer-driven and cost-efficient, and is supplied to the UK 's manufacturing industry for use in structural design.

“Bringing a dedicated Kanya representative on board was the natural next step. It will ensure sales are developed further and that we continue to offer our customers a first class service,” said Paul.

A new Kanya software package, ‘KanyaThek3', has recently been released to aid designers in the production of CAD drawings of the extrusion system. The package is now available to download from the Kanya website.

Thinking Space has recently branched out into new industries including the pharmaceutical, medical and audio-visual markets. It is a global provider of high-quality technical furniture and offers the complete solution including the supply of furniture, lighting and decoration to the undertaking of project management and full building work.

 The firm has 20 year's experience in the design and supply of elegant yet durable furniture for demanding environments including air traffic control, CCTV and broadcasting. Thinking Space's prestigious clients include city councils, police authorities, BAE, Jaguar, Siemens, Sony and the RAF.

TECH FURNITURE FIRM MAKES 'COOLEST' CONSOLE IN THE WORLD

A state-of-the-art research station located in Antarctica will feature bespoke technical furniture designed and manufactured by Thinking Space Systems, one of the UK's leading suppliers.

The prestigious Halley VI project is a new self sufficient complex providing a home and work place for scientists from the British Antarctic Survey and is located 10,000 miles from the UK on a 150 metre thick floating ice shelf.

Thinking Space's role in the project was to design and build a made-to-measure console unit to house the IT monitoring equipment in the Research Station's control room.

Wayne Palmer, managing director at the Hampshire, company said: “This is an exciting project to be involved with and it is a real honour to be selected as the supplier.

“The weight and size requirements for the consoles were very specific, making this a challenging brief, but we are extremely pleased with the results,” said Wayne.

The Halley VI Research Station was designed by Hugh Broughton Architects, working with Faber Maunsell. The new prefabricated modular building is designed to have minimal impact on Antarctica's pristine environment and features a dramatic central social and recreational module.

Sarah Besly, Senior Architect at Hugh Broughton Architects Ltd, said, “Halley VI is a unique project and one which will have significant impact on environmental research.

“We are delighted with the consoles Thinking Space has designed we and are looking forward to seeing them in-situ and operational in the near future,” added Sarah.

Thinking Space Systems is a global provider of high-quality technical furniture and offers the complete solution including the supply of furniture, lighting and decoration to the undertaking of project management and full building work.

 The firm has 20 year's experience in the design and supply of elegant yet durable furniture for demanding environments including air traffic control, CCTV and broadcasting. Thinking Space's prestigious clients include city councils, police authorities, BAE, Jaguar, Siemens, Sony and the RAF.

Photo with thanks to:
www.7-t.co.uk for producing the images and Hugh Broughton Architects /Faber Maunsell for the design

The second show success for Thinking Space at the BEST London show this month. Many existing customers based in the London area took the opportunity to catch up with the team at the show, and many new faces took the opportunity to meet the team and discuss the company products. This follows a rewarding attendance of the Ifsec 2007 show in May last month where Thinking Space staff met with existing and potential customers to discuss the services and new products that were taken along to the show.

Thinking Space held their first open day to officially open the new Romsey offices this month. Customer’s suppliers and friends of the business visited throughout the afternoon to check out the facilities and see some of the latest projects. The new Worshipful the Mayor of Test Valley, Pamela Mutton arrived mid afternoon with her Consort Dennis Mutton to meet the team and to cut the red ribbon, officially opening the new offices. The event proved a big success for all, with plenty of time for catching up with company friends, enjoying the buffet and a drink, and ensuring a relaxing start to the bank holiday weekend was had by everyone.

Thinking Space were pleased to take part in their first work experience programme with a local school. George Bark from Henry Beaufort School in Winchester chose Thinking Space to base his 2 week experience in a work environment. ' I am really enjoying my time here, I am hoping to run my own business in the future and the skills I pick up from Thinking Space will help' says George, aged 15. George's father Alastair Bark has worked for Thinking Space as the Design Manager since 2006. Both father and son have now made a real contribution to the team.

Security console specialists Thinking Space Systems head towards their 4th birthday following an incredibly successful year's growth and subsequent move to new larger offices in Romsey. The new 6,000 square-foot premises will allow plenty of office room for the sales and design team as well as a larger workshop space for the engineers to develop and build the consoles on site. We look forward to welcoming more of our customers to visit the premises during 2007.

The Thinking Space team now total ten with the recent appointment of a new marketing employee who will be responsible for all the companies Marketing efforts. 'Thinking Space have built up so many great customer relationships already' says Jessica 'I am looking forward to raising company awareness further and letting existing and potential customers know the full range of services Thinking Space can provide'.