OFP Timber Framed Houses Ltd (OFP), which specialises in the design and manufacture of high quality, timber framed homes, was introduced to Communicate as it was relocating from its facilities at Stonar Lake Industrial Estate to a set of new units and offices at Discovery Park, Kent.

Communicate’s Network and Infrastructure Manager for Discovery Park, Mark Styles met with OFP’s Managing Director, Alastair Narraway, to see where Communicate could assist and add benefit to his growing business, whilst offering an IT relocation package to ensure a smooth transition.

Alastair’s relocation timescale was very tight and there were several technical challenges to overcome, with server migrations and new telephony requirements. Everything was delivered on time to enable OFP to be up and running on day one in their new location.

Alastair Narraway, OFP said “We are so pleased with the service that we received from Communicate. Mark was brilliant. He offered solutions for all our needs and even provided telephone training for us at a time to suit, outside of normal office hours. He ensured everything ran to time within our requirements, despite the complexities. We also worked with another partner on this project, Think Big Tech, and the combined teams pulled together so that we had all our services installed and launched the day we opened our doors.”

Mark Styles said – “Having worked with Alastair on his IT requirements, we’ve been able to provide OFP with highspeed internet connectivity, IP networking and a building wireless solution, which is all linked to a new virtual file server. We’ve also installed a VOIP phone system, which will allow OFP to continue to grow as a company.

“The time scale was very tight – in fact we had just a matter of a couple of days to setup, migrate everything across, back up, restore and test. The process was seamless and no down time was experienced by them or their clients.

Mark continues “We liaised with Chris Vilton of Think Big Services and his team, combining our respective services and skill sets to create a bespoke suite of offerings for OFP that would meet all of Alastair’s requirements. Working with the Think Big team on our first joint venture was superb and the relationship proved invaluable to ensure all business expectations were met.

Alastair commented further: “At OFP we care about every step of our processes and this really matters to us – all of our products are ‘created with care’. From tree to final roll out – we know where everything we use is from and that it’s sustainably sourced. We have next to no waste leave our factory. The sawdust is compacted down and fed into our Biomass boiler to provide heat. We even have PV roof tiles to give us electricity – we’re almost self-sufficient and this is something which I am very proud.

“After meeting Mark, we saw Communicate had a very similar company ethos. Happy to collaborate with another partner in Think Big, and both keeping me in the picture at every step of the process, I wouldn’t hesitate to use them again - they did an excellent job.”