Alternative to Terrane Ltd?

[Lord Harry Flashman]

I am now running our Sqn Fund and was wondering: Can anyone recommend an alternative company to Terrane Ltd for all encompassing provision of Name Badges, Zaps, Mugs, etc. or do they have a monopoly on all that sort of stuff?:confused:

[Jobza Guddun]

Seems to be a few people getting teed off with Terrane of late, my outfit and another sqn here have been trying to find alternates. Bill brookes Squadron Supplies were a credible alternative, but he seems to have dropped out of sight, as a search directs you to an american website.

US supplier at Nellis AFB BX does very good quality at lower prices, pm me for further details if you like.

FF

[Winco]

Harry,
There are others of course who will tell you that they manufacture name badges and crests, mugs ets etc, however, if you were to ask them if you could visit their factory premises (as I have requested in the past) you will probably find that they are purely 'middle men'
I know Terry and his wife Ann personally (Terry was on my sqn many years ago) I have always found them to be more than helpful and cooperative, and would recommend them to anyone.
Why don't you give them a ring on 01522 697000 and ask to visit their factory, I am sure they will make you welcome, and you will be able to see for yourself their setup.
I don't know if they have the monopoly on military sales, but if they do, then good luck to them! Check out the web site also and you'll see why so many sqns use them : www.terrane.co.uk (http://www.terrane.co.uk)

The Winco

[Pontius Navigator]

and Terry was my neighbour before he married Ann.

[Confucius]

Competition improves the breed.

(Unless one is buying kit for the forces, in which case only BAe will do :rolleyes: )

[DKP1]

Winco if you know them personally how come you call the lady in question Anne when it clearly states that her name is Jane on the website......??

Anyway they do produce good quality items.......

[f4aviation]

You can always try www.handmadebymachine.com (http://www.handmadebymachine.com). :ok:

[Lord Harry Flashman]

Thanks for your help, still looking around for alternatives, they are very hard to find. You'd think there would be competition for this type of market. Also looking for decent company for cummerbunds and bow ties, any helpful suggestions welcome.
LHF

[6foottanker]

Get yourself down to an airshow like RIAT or Waddo, it's where companies such as you are seeking do much of their business. You should find several competing producers, with lots of examples of their handiwork for your viewing pleasure!

[Winco]

DKP1
OK, I'll take a hit on that, it is Jane I see.
But it was a long time ago you know, back in the 70's on Nimrods at ISK.
Anyway, I'm pleased that you like their products. Oh and by the way Lord Harry, they also make Cumerbunds with the Sqn emblem sewn on the front. Go and visit them, thats the best thing.
The Winco

[Pontius Navigator]

Winco, see PM, you were not wrong.

[purple chopper]

Try www.stewart-aviation.co.uk they have been around a lot longer than Terrane.

Also www.milfed.co.uk fairly new guys but beat everyone I asked for price and quality on mugs, shirts and a load more.

And no I have no invlovement before anyone asks.

[Stray Fin]

Gill at Squadron Prints did some badges for the largest FJ Sqn in the RAF last year. Looking on their website there's little mention of patches - so maybe they've ceased to do them. This would be a shame as they were excellent quality. We had had some average service from Terrane, which left the impression that they didn't need our business, so we jumped ship. Sqn Prints is very friendly and very reasonably priced, however, the size of the initial order may put some punters off.

http://www.squadronprints.com/master.htm

[The Swinging Monkey]

Stray Fin
There's little mention on her web site because she don't make em!!!!!
The reason you have to buy so many is because they are made in Korea or Taiwan or some other sweat shop around the globe! If you only want a handful, then Terrane will gladly do them because they are manufacturers, simple as that. Same goes for big numbers.
I would disagree entirely with you about Sqn Prints. Most of the time there is no reply, when you leave messages they rarely (if ever) get returned, and unless you are ordering 100's then forget it!
Stick with Terrane is my advice.
Kind regards to all
TSM

[Ops and Mops]

TSM,

I'm not sure what your beef is with Squadron Prints, (but having re-read your profile I now know exactly why...Co- Director of Terrane by any chance?!) but there is nothing wrong with their service in the slightest. Each and every one of the emails I have sent have been fully and comprehensively answered.

Gill and Berry are very busy people (especially in the summer) seeing to their core business of comissioning and supplying their fantastic prints. This involves a lot of travel but they normally try and have at least one of them in the country at any one time.

Squadron Prints can (and do) supply very high quality badges and patches on request, but as their main business is with the prints, they do not advertise it. Normally those who deal with them will be able to get a price and delivery is very swift. As has been stated, many of the RAF Squadrons are switching to Sqn Prints for their badges (including brevets and name badges) due to the lower prices and more personal service. As for the claim that you have to order "100's" of badges at any one time from them, I suggest that any potential customers speak directly to the company rather than relying on the words of a others with "history". Word of Mouth is a very powerful advertising medium!

My personal experience? Terrane can be expensive with setup charges and I have found them, on occasion, to be rather unhelpful and "gruff" on the phone.

You pays yer money and you takes yer choice!

(And again, I have no involvement with either comapny.)

[mr ripley]

Sorry I have had excellent service off Gill and Berry over the last few years. I think this an unjustified slight.

[The Swinging Monkey]

Ops and Mops,
Thats fantastic, so you think I am the co director of Terrane eh? God, I only wish!! (my pofile says co director, which is short for COMPANY, not co as in partner!)
I will admit that Terry is a good friend of mine, and I have known him for many years, indeed going back to the 80's when we were at Kinloss together.
I am certainly not bad mouthing Sqn prints, indeed, I would agree that their prints are second to none, and my house has them hung all over the place much to Mrs TSM's annoyance!

Maybe its time we just stopped slanging each others friends' businesses and agree to disagree.

Kind regards to all
TSM

[ComJam]

I'd definately recommend Stewart Aviation, we got a patch made by them last year, excellent service.

Cheers :ok:

[Terry K Rumble]

Good Afternoon Everyone,

I have been reading this thread with some interest for the past couple of days, and wanted to put the record straight.
I AM Terry Rumble, ex AEOp of this parish and the owner of Terrane Ltd along with my wife JANE (not Anne as some think!)

I am in no way related to The Swinging Monkey as 'Ops and Mops' seems to think, and I do not know who he or she is, although I do have an inkling who it could be. Likewise, I am not related to anyone else on this forum other than my son, who goes by the name of Grob Driver.

So those are the facts. As for Terrane, I have no intentions whatsoever of using this platform for gain, promotion or otherwise, but would like to say that visitors to my factory in Lincoln are welcome at any time, something not many other 'suppliers' can offer.

I do know Ms Howie of Sqn Prints, and would agree entirely with others that her Prints are, without question, the best available and second to none. (I too have lots of them displayed around my home!)

People are free to make their own judgement about where and who they purchase their products from. I would only ask those that claim to have had a problem or not received a good service from Terrane to give me a ring personaly to discuss it and rectify matters.

Thank you and best wishes
Terry K Rumble

[fantaman]

Good Afternoon Everyone,

I have been reading this thread with some interest for the past couple of days, and wanted to put the record straight.
I AM Terry Rumble, ex AEOp of this parish and the owner of Terrane Ltd along with my wife JANE (not Anne as some think!)

I am in no way related to The Swinging Monkey as 'Ops and Mops' seems to think, and I do not know who he or she is, although I do have an inkling who it could be. Likewise, I am not related to anyone else on this forum other than my son, who goes by the name of Grob Driver.

So those are the facts. As for Terrane, I have no intentions whatsoever of using this platform for gain, promotion or otherwise, but would like to say that visitors to my factory in Lincoln are welcome at any time, something not many other 'suppliers' can offer.

I do know Ms Howie of Sqn Prints, and would agree entirely with others that her Prints are, without question, the best available and second to none. (I too have lots of them displayed around my home!)

People are free to make their own judgement about where and who they purchase their products from. I would only ask those that claim to have had a problem or not received a good service from Terrane to give me a ring personaly to discuss it and rectify matters.

Thank you and best wishes
Terry K Rumble
Can't ask for more than that.

[Arbie]

Just for the record, I've always found Terrane very quick and a pleasure to deal with, for single badges or large orders. On a similar topic, I'm having difficulty resurrecting our Squadron print at the moment - it used to be provided by Squadron Prints, but it appears it's been discontinued, and for some reason we'd have to pay set-up costs again even to get ten or twenty printed - surely it's just a case of pulling up the right file on the the computer? Any ideas for alternatives?

[fantaman]

Same here, Terrane have always been great to deal with. Although I have only ever placed orders for single badges amounting to no more than £10 at a time I've always had a good, speedy service.

[Ops and Mops]

Terry,

Thanks for your reply and clearing up any confusion regarding TSM.

My post was simply an open and honest attempt to bring balance to the post made by TSM effectively "cutting down" Squadron Prints without any rhyme or reason.

I am more than happy to get in touch regarding the issues I have experienced and I draw your attention to the phrase "on occassion" rather than a continued issue.

As I have said, you pays yer money and takes yer choice. I will probably have cause to use both in the future no doubt!

[Winco]

Respect Terry, well done.

The Winco

[getoutofiraq]

We use Bobbins Ltd for all our badges and t-shirts etc, they dont do mugs and zaps but their shirts and badges are all very good quality. They are cheaper than Terrane and generally deliver very quickly and weve had no problems with them. Give them a call on 01380 850000 and speak to Pete or Barbara.

[Squadron Prints]

We (Gill & Berry of Squadron Prints) have also been reading this thread with interest and would like to put the record straight!

Like Terrane, we are an established company and we agree with Terry and Jane that people are free to make their own judgement as to where they buy their products and we too ask that you contact us again and we will try to help you. I must add that it is not always easy to contact someone especially in the military as they seem to have many jobs to do and sometimes the return messages are not always passed on due to the pressure of the person answering the phone if they are working an ops desk or something. Similarly, talking quickly on the telephone or noise in the background does not always make it easy to get all the information off of the answering machine message.

A couple of points though – Squadron Prints is a very small company – there are 2 of us who work, run and live the company. Unfortunately we do not have a factory – we have a loft and a garage but if people want to come and see us they only have to ask.

We have only done a few patches and mainly for people that we know personally on Squadrons and do not advertise this fact on our website as it is not our main business. Initially minimum orders were required to cover a basic set up cost and we got them made from a supplier in Holland who supplies the most of the Armed Forces in Europe. Now an established customer with that company we no longer have such a large minimum order but it does take time and effort to set up the design & stitch count etc and time is money.

Secondly, as for wanting 20 prints! Well we could do that but please note all our prints are printed on a new high standard, four colour, printing press and not run off an inkjet printer. The combination of the inks used on the printing press in combination with the pure white chromomat heavy weight paper gives the professional finish of our fine artwork that doesn’t fade as easily as an inkjet print. The bulk of the cost is made up by the artwork and the four printing plates needed for this process. As said before, we could do 20 prints, but the cost for these 20 prints would be almost the same as for a larger run. By keeping the initial print run 200, the unit price comes down to sellable level.

As to “Swinging Monkey’s” comment about messages – I am sorry this has happened to you – when we are away my mother usually answers the phone and if the line is busy or she is out it goes to the answer machine. Being a small business we have no staff to do that for us. Like Terry says – please contact me directly – my mobile is on the web site and we will try to help you out.

With this background information, we hope that this is an end to the matter and that we can all get back to serving our customers as well as we can.

Thank you for your time

Gill and Berry

[The Swinging Monkey]

Terry,
Hey Big Fella - well done matey for your post and like the Winco says - respect. I did quite enjoy being the owner of Terrane tho' - even if it was for only a day!
Looking forward to seeing you all at Waddo airshow
Kind regards, as always, to all
TSM

[DKP1]

So pontius am I right now???

have a good weekend all.....

[Lord Harry Flashman]

Thanks all for your helpful points, i didn't expect to see messages from MD of Terrane and Sqn Prints!! Great stuff. Will look into the suggestions of other companies and see how it pans out.