Our team

In 1986 the company was started by Ian Brown, who identified a need for a mailbox to be fitted to the back of a letterflap on a front door to contain unwanted items, threats of arson and intimidation. This was following a visit to an elderly couple living on the top floor of a tower block with no means of escape and living in fear of incidents via their letterflap.

An engineer and business owner, Ian produced a box called Homeguard, fitted with an intumescent extinguisher and returned to install it for them free of charge. It provided then with so much peace of mind that Ian decided to market the product.

When demonstrating this product to architects and developers he was asked for mailboxes to go on, in and through the wall, as a result he then duly created and developed our first range of mailboxes.

Fast forward 35 years and we now have over 180 models of mailboxes in our range and we are at the forefront of innovation and aesthetics within mailboxes and now parcelboxes, this includes a 2 hour Fire Rated mailbox range and Secured By Design mailbox solutions. We also designed and manufacture FlaplockTM, a lockable letterflap, designed to lock off the letterflap as a retro-fit product, produced as a result of demand from UK Arson Task force teams, again to address crime associated with the letterflap.

SLB bespoke solutions are second to none – adorning the most prestigious of developments worldwide; including the Burj Khalifa, Dubai, and projects in Mexico, Gibraltar, US, Qatar, Australia with multiple projects being installed weekly in the UK. Working with designers, architects and developers, SLB have created the most visually impactful and beautiful arrangements with clever technical expertise, literally turning their vision into reality.

In 2011 Ian Brown received an MBE for services to Industry in the Queen’s Birthday Honours List and continues to operate as a consultant to the business , following his retirement in 2012 when SLB became part of the Renz Group.

CURRENT

The Safety Letterbox Company is the UK’s leading mailbox and parcelbox manufacturer and run by Ian’s daughter, Alison Orrells, who joined the business in 1999. Alison was instrumental in setting up many departments within SLB and bringing in multiple processes and procedures, and took over as Managing Director & CEO in 2007. Alison has received many recognitions over the years such as South Wales Business Woman of the Year 2016, Female Managing Director of the Year and the business itself has been recognised many times for Innovation, Growth and Expansion and International business.

Joining the Renz Group in 2012 was a mutually beneficial arrangement providing the backing of a large International Group and its resource and the almost 100 years of experience Renz had in Europe, whilst allowing SLB to be run as it always has been with strong family values and culture and a thorough understanding of the UK market.

SLB continues to grow and currently employs over 60 local people, all are vitally important to the business. It is run very much with best practice and ethical standards in mind. Departments include Sales & Estimating, Accounts, R&D, Marketing, E-commerce, Continuous Improvement, Production control, Installation, Service & Maintenance and Despatch. All products are made in-house with departments such as sheet metal, welding and fabricating, powder coating, assembly and engraving.

As manufacturers with total control over R&D, it enables us to work with the customer to provide the very best solution for their project.

Safety Letterbox Co has a loyal, experienced and highly productive team that work within an open, measurable and quality driven culture.

As an Investors in People and ISO9001 company, SLB operates a continuous improvement environment with a passionate and proactive mindset.

The customer is at the forefront of everything at SLB, and being a British manufacturer is vitally important to SLB core values.

SLB is very much a trusted voice in the Industry with involvement within many bodies such as Made In Britain, Chamber of Trade, CBI. Alison also sits on the Board of Swansea Bay Business Club, Manufacturing Wales and the CBI Council for Wales and Nationally for SME’s and Manufacturing.

SLB is firmly committed to its Corporate Social Responsibility pillars and the road map it follows to ensure the Company is consistently delivering for the business, valued customers, the environment and our community.

Renz Group is Europe’s market leader – it employs over 820 personnel, with factories in Germany, Poland, France and SLB in the UK. It has immense capability , knowledge and expertise. With a phenomenal range of products for both mail and parcel delivery including the multi award winning myRENZbox intelligent systems, to satisfy and future-proof the growing demands of e-commerce and intralogistics.