Princess Anne presents long service awards at Time 24 in Burgess Hill

Loyal staff at Burgess Hill’s Time 24 were honoured when Princess Anne paid a royal visit on Wednesday (September 21) to present long service awards.
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Some 52 members of staff out of 98 have collectively put in more than 900 years of service with the electronics wiring specialist.

This works out as an average of 17 years each.

Colleagues Nick Halsey, Colin Grimsley, Sue Smith, Paul Bartram, Karen Taylor, James Greenfield and Nigel O’Sullivan individually racked up 25 years or more in 2020.

Karen Taylor from Horsham received a 25 Years Service Award from Princess Anne. Photo: Steve Robards.Karen Taylor from Horsham received a 25 Years Service Award from Princess Anne. Photo: Steve Robards.
Karen Taylor from Horsham received a 25 Years Service Award from Princess Anne. Photo: Steve Robards.
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“In the sectors in which we operate, dependability and consistently high standards are key and we must rely on our staff to perform as a team to the best of their ability, each and every day,” said David Shore, director and co-founder of Time 24.

David said his workers’ continuity of service was a personal and professional milestone and key to building the company’s reputation as a world-class manufacturer.

He said he was delighted their achievement had been recognised by Her Royal Highness The Princess Royal.

“We are very fortunate in having such a dedicated, skilled and lovely bunch of people – some of whom we’ve known from the very earliest days of Time 24,” David said.

Princess Anne presents a long service certificate to Colin Grimsley from Haywards Heath. Picture: Steve Robards.Princess Anne presents a long service certificate to Colin Grimsley from Haywards Heath. Picture: Steve Robards.
Princess Anne presents a long service certificate to Colin Grimsley from Haywards Heath. Picture: Steve Robards.
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Since the company was established in 1987 David and co-founder Mark Willifer have involved Time 24 in the Mid Sussex community.

During Princess Anne’s tour of the plant Ardingly College students showed the solar car they have been building on the shop floor.

Ardingly was the first school in Europe to design, build and race a solar-powered vehicle 3,020km from Darwin to Adelaide.

The school’s second car travelled from John O’Groats to Haywards Heath this year and the students are now working on designing a flatpack solar car for the developing world.

James Greenfield from Horsham received a 25 Years Service Award from Princess Anne. Photo: Steve Robards.James Greenfield from Horsham received a 25 Years Service Award from Princess Anne. Photo: Steve Robards.
James Greenfield from Horsham received a 25 Years Service Award from Princess Anne. Photo: Steve Robards.
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“It’s been inspiring watching these young engineers build the future they want to see,” said David.

Time 24 has expanded by 85 per cent since 2017 and supplies components to clients operating in high-safety environments, including civil and military aircraft, public transport and cancer treatment centres.

It has provided wiring and electronics for more than 30,000 UK rail carriages, 500 aircraft simulators, 1,000 radiotherapy machines and more than 1,000 microchip manufacturing machines.

Princess Anne presented the following staff with 25 Years Service Awards:

Colin Grimsley from Haywards Heath received a 25 Years Service Award from Princess Anne. Photo: Steve Robards.Colin Grimsley from Haywards Heath received a 25 Years Service Award from Princess Anne. Photo: Steve Robards.
Colin Grimsley from Haywards Heath received a 25 Years Service Award from Princess Anne. Photo: Steve Robards.
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Nick Halsey from Burgess Hill, who joined Time 24 in November 1995 as a cable builder and is now materials controller.

Sue Smith from Burgess Hill, who joined as a cable builder and now works in the stores department.

Colin Grimsley from Haywards Heath, who is currently a supervisor for one of Time 24’s cable assembly teams.

Paul Bartram from Crowborough, who began working for Time 24 in October 1995. He started his career working with aircraft simulators for L3 Harris (formerly Rediffusion) and is now one of Time 24’s clients.

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Karen Taylor from Horsham, who started in accounts administration and is now the company’s accounts manager.

James Greenfield from Horsham, who was a delivery driver but retrained as a wireman.

Princess Anne inspects the wiring. Picture: Steve Robards .Princess Anne inspects the wiring. Picture: Steve Robards .
Princess Anne inspects the wiring. Picture: Steve Robards .

The 30 Years Service Award went to Nigel O’Sullivan from Eastbourne, who was an apprentice baker before leaving the food industry at 18 to work for Time 24 as a cable builder in 1990. For the past 15 years he has been responsible for the company’s logistics and purchasing, and is an expert in computer materials control.