From Writtle to the South of England: How Crawford’s Group Became a Farming Force What does it take to grow a family business from a single trailer in Essex into a multi-division, multi-million-pound powerhouse serving thousands across the South of England? For Wes Crawford, Managing Director of Crawford’s Group, the answer lies in legacy,…
DetailsDoing the Opposite: How Jeff Dewing Rebuilt from Rock Bottom to a £70m Culture-First Success If you’ve ever walked into a business and felt the energy dip, you’ll get the problem Jeff Dewing set out to fix. In this episode of Made in Essex, Jill Willis meets Jeff Dewing, CEO of Cloud, the Colchester-based…
DetailsKelly Bronze: Building a Premium Brand from the Farm Up “Business is a boxing match… you’re on the ropes, taking punch after punch. But your time will come. Then you’ve just got to come out fighting.” If you’ve ever sat down to a Kelly Bronze turkey on Christmas Day, you’ve tasted a legacy born from…
DetailsResilience, Reinvention and Results: Essex’s Top Firms Show What Growth Really Looks Like In this final episode of Stories of Essex Limited, host Jill Willis sits down with Doug Bentley of Grant Thornton and Adam Jones from Birketts LLP to bring the Essex Limited 2025 report into sharp focus. Together, we explore what lies…
DetailsHow Bartech Marine Grew from a Garage to a £10m Global Operator It started in a garage on Mersea Island – one engineer, one big idea, and a belief that things could be done better. Today, Bartech Marine is one of the UK’s most respected diesel engine specialists. Headquartered in Colchester, with a second…
DetailsFrom Call Centre to Channel 4: Colin Horton’s Bold Journey in Property What does it take to build a £4 million property business from just £3,000 and a personal brand? According to Colin Horton, it takes grit, visibility, and more than a few sleepless nights. In this episode of Made in Essex, Jill Willis…
DetailsMade in Essex: How Tuffon Hall Turned a Family Farm into an Award-Winning Vineyard Destination From a beachside bottle of wine in Tasmania to a thriving vineyard in the heart of Essex, Tuffon Hall is a story of reinvention. What started as a bold diversification move has grown into one of Essex’s most loved…
DetailsStories of Essex Limited continues – and in Episode 3, we look inside the fast-growing world of circular tech. In this episode, host Jill Willis sits down with Martin Series, Director of Global Services at Foxway UK, to explore the evolution of a business that’s now generating £103 million in turnover. With insight from co-hosts…
DetailsMade in Essex: How Rebecca Rickwood Is Rewriting the Rulebook for Construction Careers From a passion project during lockdown to a national programme changing lives, Gement is helping thousands of people, particularly young talent, step into the construction industry with confidence, clarity and support. In this episode of Made in Essex, Jill Willis sits…
DetailsMade in Essex: How VegTrug is Growing a Global Gardening Movement from Local Roots From humble raised beds to worldwide wellness, Colchester based VegTrug is helping people everywhere grow their own. Their philosophy? To make it easy for everyone to grow their own food, even in the smallest of spaces – regardless of postcode,…
DetailsMade in Essex: How Milbank Concrete is Paving the Way to Net Zero From low-carbon innovation to long-serving teams, Colchester-based Milbank Concrete Products is showing the construction industry what leadership really looks like. Their mission? To reach net zero across their operations by 2030 – while maintaining high performance, strong customer relationships, and deep…
DetailsMade in Essex: How to Win a King’s Award for Enterprise With a record-breaking 11 Essex businesses winning the King’s Award for Enterprise in 2024, local companies are proving they have what it takes to compete on a national stage. But what does it really take to win? Applying for the King’s Award…
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