Retired man recognised for charity efforts by International Exhibition Stand Company

Mr Charles Harrold of Sprowston, Norwich, commenced his career as an apprentice at the famous local company Bolton & Paul Ltd in 1940. In 1976, by then working in the motor trade, he attended the Motor Show and it was there that he first saw a display unit by Nimlok Ltd. The company he worked for at the time wouldn’t purchase a system for themselves but Mr Harrold was so impressed with its function he couldn’t let the opportunity pass and so he personally purchased a small three panel system for use at work! That was the beginning of the life of the Nimlok panel & pole set that Mr Harrold still uses to this day!

After 30 years of use Mr Harrold wanted to add to his system and emailed Nimlok in the vain hope of obtaining spares for his product manufactured not long after Nimlok started. Whilst Nimlok offer a “lifetime guarantee” on their systems he was skeptical that this was just a marketing ploy. He was surprised to find that not only were Nimlok able to provide the parts he needed, but were very pleased to hear about the work Mr Harrold and his wife had done for various volunteer and charitable organizations using their Nimlok system over the years.

Nimlok have always promoted the fact that their systems are re-useable and so have minimum environmental impact and good return on investment for the purchaser. Miss Melanie Page, PR Manager at Nimlok was so pleased to hear of this prime example of the company’s theology that she brought Mr Harrold’s story to the attention of the Directors.

“The panels are worth their weight in gold” explained Mr Harrold, “Over the years we managed to buy four St John’s Ambulances using the panels to display our work for fund-raising”.

The panels have also been in constant demand for displaying the tapestries of Sprowston in local schools and libraries; they have also been seen in Tesco, Norfolk, Sprowston Marriott Hotel, the County Hall and many more!

Mr Harrold entered and won the “Pride in your Community” award for 2007 when he wrote about the village of Sprowston, where he has been a resident for over 50 years. It was with great pride that Mr Harrold and his wife set out to the County Hall on 20th September to receive their award.

Mr Harrold, now retired, spends his time voluntarily as Vice Chairman for Sprowston Heritage, a group of local volunteers researching and displaying the history of Sprowston for others to enjoy and look back on. The history is displayed in the form of tapestries at local museums and hotels, including a recent exhibition at the Costume & Textile Fair held at Wolterton Park.

It was therefore a nice surprise for Mr Harrold when his display system was refurbished by Nimlok and the parts he required added, all free of charge. They were delivered personally by Miss Page and Garry Clement-Boggis the Marketing Director at Nimlok who wanted to thank Charles personally for being such a loyal customer who was so dedicated to serving his community.

Mr Harrold concluded; “It has been a very poor couple of months one way or another, so when Melanie called me from Nimlok, it made my day. I still can’t believe an international company such as Nimlok would even bother to call me let alone visit me and assist with my request. It is nice that they bothered to recognise my work….Thank you Nimlok!”

News Story Date - 26/10/2007 00:00:00

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