Overview of Warwick Mill Copywriting Ltd Warwick Mill Copywriting Ltd has been established for over 20 years under the ownership of Technical Journalist Bruce Meechan, with his wife Juliet coming onboard just over 10 years ago. Together they write for the construction industry, producing articles, press releases, White Papers and editorial, as well as advertorial, case studies, brochures and blogs. In addition to being contributing editors for construction magazines, they produce copy for those involved in the industry, from public relations companies to manufacturers, in print and online.

Contents P2 About Bruce

P4 About Juliet

P6 Clients over the last 10 years – past and present

P7 Endorsements

P8 What we can do for you

P9 Have pen, will travel

P12 Contact details and rates

Contact details Landline: T: 01626 833 667 Bruce M: 07814 9000 73 E: bruce@wavcoms.co.uk Juliet M: 07790 957 412 E: juliet@wavcoms.co.uk

Bruce Meechan, B.Sc. Civ, Eng. Technical Journalist Having undertaken a four year sandwich course in civil engineering, which included a 12 month spell as a trainee engineer on the construction of the reactors at Heysham AGR Nuclear Power Station in Lancashire, Bruce Meechan graduated from Portsmouth Polytechnic in 1979. A similar spell with George Wimpey on the Canterbury By-pass gave him an insight into carriageway and bridge construction, before he took the position of site agent with Neacroft Civil Engineering on the Greenwich Peninsula Link Road, which now accesses the O2 Arena and connects to the Blackwall Tunnel. He stayed on in London through the mid-eighties, gaining experience of refurbishment work, picking up many building skills along the way, while also taking an interest in the trade press. Having had articles published in the now long vanished Building Refurbishment Magazine, about projects he was working on, Bruce took up the editor, Nick Jones’ offer to research and write other case histories for the title. The boom years of 1986-88 offered a fertile environment for him to hone his writing skills and gain commissions from other titles, to the point where he was able to ‘give up the day job’ and write full time. His technical skills and industry insight immediately bringing Bruce to the attention of public relations companies serving the sector: enabling him to broaden his client base still further. Over the past three decades Bruce has contributed to the majority of construction titles including Building, Construction News, Individual Homes, ABC&D, Building Design and National Builder. He has also undertaken consultancy writing work for a number of PR companies including BPS Associates, CIB Communications, Taylor Alden, John Ward-Turner Publicity, and Spurgeon Walker. When in 1998 Kevin Edgeworth – a former executive with ABC&D, - embarked on publishing his own editorial title for the social housing sector under the Waverley Communications umbrella, Bruce was recruited as Consulting Editor, this being a

post he still holds today. He also continues as technical or features editor on other Waverley journals, including Modern Methods of Construction and Refurb & Renew. His work for Waverley regular sees Bruce attending exhibitions and press conferences around the UK, also involving giving presentations to expert audiences on a variety of subjects. And in 2005 he was invited by the Government of Quebec to report on the timber growing and manufacturing industries; spending a week visiting Canadian companies to produce a series of articles. With an unrivalled blend of academic qualifications, practical building knowledge and extensive editorial experience, Bruce Meechan is acknowledged as one of the industry’s most accomplished journalists. His abilities though, have proved transferable and he has written on many subjects including sport, leisure, disability and current affairs. His writing styles can meanwhile switch between in-depth technical analysis, case histories, profiles, news, brochure copy, website material, and blogging.

Juliet Meechan, BA (Hons), freelance journalist and editor (writing under the name of Juliet Woodcock). Juliet has been writing nationwide for the construction industry for over 10 years and has been the consulting editor of R&R (Refurb and Renew) magazine since its launch in 2001. She also contributes articles and sub-edits material for HA (Housing Association) and MMC (Modern Methods of Construction) magazines so has a good knowledge of what is happening in the market place. Other work includes writing case studies, product press releases and articles for both PR companies as well as directly for manufacturers. This includes copy for adverts, blogs and product news. Having been involved with two self-builds, Juliet has a working knowledge of the building industry, which is worth mentioning as she is often asked how a female can

understand, let alone write about, the construction business which remains a mainly male dominated environment. Subjects she has written about include philanthropy, regeneration, historical buildings and renewable energy, as well as off-site construction, street furniture, paints, ventilation, insulation, kitchens and bathrooms. Doors and windows, plumbing and drainage systems, plus flooring, roofing and disability solutions are areas also covered. This includes current issues such as recycling, waste management and legislation, embracing the Code for Sustainable homes, Building Regulations and DDA compliance. Educationally, she has a BA degree in English, with A Levels in art and art history, so would be able to write about these subject areas too. Juliet also has nearly 20 years as a Registered General Nurse, working in A&E, theatres, recovery, ICU and surgical wards. Her interests include drawing and cartoons, some of which have been published; she is therefore able to supply this type of artwork. Visualizations are another specialty, such as for planning permission.

Waverley Communications

Edson Evers

Publicity overload

Unidek Aero

DPA

Endorsements “I  would  recommend  Bruce  Meechan  as  a  highly  professional  technical  writer.    He  is  well  informed  on  a  vast  variety  of  subjects  and  he  delivers  highly  accurate  copy  with  excellent  technical  details  and  customer  endorsements.”    Robert  Drury,  Taylor  Alden  pr  2012    “Dear Juliet, I have received the January / February 2014 issue of Refurb and RENEW and was very impressed with its presentation and content particularly your article, ‘The dawn of a new era’ on the architectural history of our great railway buildings. Are you going to publish the series when completed?” John Reeves, ACP Architects 2014 “I have worked closely with Bruce and Juliet for over four years during which time they have provided copywriting services for Plastic Surgeon. They always deliver excellent work, on time and on budget, writing for the wide range of differing mediums and addressing the issues that are relevant to Plastic Surgeon’s diverse customer base.“Their writing styles cover a broad range of items from customer case studies, editorial articles and white papers, to newsletters, websites and blogs. They have an in-depth knowledge of the construction and housebuilding sectors and are very good at researching new sectors or topics as required. “I would have no hesitation in recommending them at all.” Cathy Baillie, Marketing Manager, Plastic Surgeon. 2014 “As  the  PR  consultant  to  trade  associations,  representing  the  principal  manufacturers  of  precast  concrete  flooring  systems,  structures  and  façades,  for  over  20  years  I  have  no  hesitation  in  expressing  my  admiration  for  Bruce  and  Juliet’s  professionalism  and  reporting  skills.  Extensive  knowledge  of  the  construction  industry  coupled  with  creative  journalism  underlines  their  position  as  key  opinion  formers  within  the  market  sectors  targeted  by  the  journals  for  which  they  have  editorial  responsibility.”    John  Pritchard  FCIPR.  2014    

What we can do for you ….. Warwick Mill Copywriting is able to write articles, news stories and other features for company/organisation newsletters, or produce the much tighter and factual copy needed in product brochures. Its two main writers will work from flat plans with headings and other written or verbal instructions, conducting research and interviews or even site visits as are required to obtain material. The company also has access to partners in the printing and photographic fields in order to offer a complete turnkey service for the finished brochure or newsletter, in print runs of whatever size is required. To summarise what we can do for you: Articles White papers Press releases Brochures Blogs Newsletters Case studies Editorial Advertorial Visualisations – slightly different to copywriting, but it’s a service we offer … With fine art and pottery having been option subjects in her degree from the University of Exeter, Juliet has a talent for both drawing and three-dimensional media; and an extensive portfolio of commissions for clients across the country. She has produced cartoons for national publications as well as portraits for private customers and 3-D drawings of properties derived from architects’ plans. Amarantis, a Devon based manufacturer of high quality tablemats, also used her services to turn photographs of hotels, houses and landmark buildings into pen and ink illustrations with a level of sensitivity and style impossible to obtain from computer graphic packages. Areas of specialty include: Drawings in pencil or pen and ink Cartoons Visualizations for planning permission, new products

Have pen, will travel… As contributing editors to Waverley Communication’s magazines – Housing Association, Refurb & Renew and MMC – we get invited to numerous press launches, in a variety of places, across the country, and even abroad. We also do a lot of travelling in order to interview clients for the PR companies and manufacturers we write for. Some of our trips involve factory tours, which we have attended across the UK, as well as in Europe. Although all are interesting, many involve hard work, with long presentations and a lot of time on the road, plus early starts and many a late finish.

We also attend trade events for on behalf of Waverley – the picture below has been photoshopped, and depicts Juliet as an angel and Kev (the MD of Waverley) as a little devil! Bruce is in the middle looking half asleep! This was at Ecobuild, which involves manning the stand and many hours trudging the halls to meet and interview manufacturers – hard work, but fun too.

Other trips involved in our business have often included mixing pleasure with business accompanying other journos; gathering at London airports, waiting to be taken to Paris Disneyland for a couple of days; we have been to Venice, Lake Garda and Berlin, and even the beautiful world heritage site Porto, and across the Atlantic to New York. While one of the PR companies we write for on a regular basis keeps mooting the idea of Chicago….

Bruce travelled across Quebec for a week in 2006 looking at the province’s timber industry on behalf of MMC, interviewing half a dozen different manufacturers as a guest of the government. Although glamorous sounding, this trip involved a lot of travelling and very long days; plus then writing up a string of articles when he got home.

We also get invited to some fantastic venues in London – a press trip on the London Eye, at Claridges and the Ritz. We’ve enjoyed lunch at The Ivy, Mosimann’s and J Sheekey, as well as Langhams. Without these press trips, we would probably never have visited some of these places, but it’s all been good fun over the years, and enabled us to become good friends with some of our clients.

Last year, one press trip involved a day’s fly fishing, which Juliet really enjoyed – see her trout – four and a half pounds! She’s now addicted to the sport – hook line and sinker ….

The above picture shows Bruce on an evening boat trip on the Norfolk Broads, which we were invited on to celebrate – and report on – the 25th birthday of Heatrae Sadia’s Megaflo product.

Corporate entertainment at Twickenham, with a presentation, fab lunch and champers ….. followed by a stay in a budget hotel we’d booked for ourselves that overlooked a burnt out tower block – we were too scared to go out, the area resembled war torn Beirut!

You never know what life is going to throw at you as a journalist, but we are prepared to travel anywhere to report on a story for our clients.

Contact details and rates Bruce and Juliet Meechan, Warwick Mill Copywriting Ltd, 1, Warwick Mill, Pottery Road, Bovey Tracey, Devon TQ13 9JJ Landline T: 01626 833 667 Bruce M: 07814 9000 73 E: bruce@wavcoms.co.uk Juliet M: 07790 957 412 E: juliet@wavcoms.co.uk Rates are as follows: £100 – 120 for 300 to 400 words for case studies £250 per 1,000 words for feature articles, depending on complexity £25 per hour for office or site work, or meetings Travel expenses

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VAT registration number: 826 1351 46