SKATE WITH SOUL - Schaeffer McLean - New Winter Edit 2015/16

The latest video stylings from our mate Schaeffer Mclean... :-)

Today at SMB Bearings...

A rare sight recently - SMB bathed in sunshine!

Our warehouse colleague Colin is rather pleased with Oxford Unite's 2-0 victory over Millwall last night & so produced this rather creative display to share his pleasure with our Flight Logistics driver (a Millwall supporter)...

Our nutty professors, Aaron & Jeff, hard at work in the technical suite - they re-lubricate bearings to your specific requirements & this is where the magic happens!

And this is where we keep Jeff when he's been naughty...

All of us at SMB Bearings wish you a very Merry Christmas!

2015 has been a pretty hectic year at SMB Bearings, so we're looking forward to our Christmas break very much & hope that you are too!

We had a lovely, unexpected visit yesterday from our friend Ian Emery, an F3C RC helicopter enthusiast & organiser of the EuroHeliSeries.

Ian Emery & his gorgeous son Oliver...

Ian brought along some choccies, festive cheer & his very lovely son Oliver & we were delighted to have a catch-up on Ian's news & grab a quick snap of them in our new reception area.

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For us at SMB, the last pre-Christmas despatch date for any orders from our swanky new warehouse

 is the 23rd December.

Our new warehouse is gradually filling up with our new stock & extended ranges...

For many areas, the last posting date has already passed, but we still have a range of express courier delivery options available for urgent requirements - please contact us to discuss the options & avoid any disruption.

We are then closing on Christmas Eve afternoon & will re-open on the 4th January 2016.

All us of at SMB Bearings would like to wish you all the very best for the festive season & the coming year - we'll look forward to talking to you again in 2016!

New developments at SMB Bearings...

We've been really busy of late - here's a summary of developments:

New logo, coming soon...

New premises...

New offices...

 New warehouse stocks arriving daily...

& new employees coming soon... could you be one of them?  

We've filled one vacancy already, in our warehouse & technical department, but if  you'd like to join our busy office we're still looking for a dedicated & enthusiastic new member of our team - send us your C.V. if you're interested, or contact us for further details.

Joe Baldwin bags victory at ‘Shred O Grande Freeride 2′...

Joe took a fantastic win in Spain recently & here he tells us all about it:

Joe on the first corner in the final heat (his race-face is definitely on here)...

"The steep top section sling-shotted you into this right-left combo. The line you hit is between the manhole covers and the massive crack in the road. This road is brutal to race because there is no room for error. Miss your line and you might get bucked off your board by an unruly manhole cover, apocalyptic earth fissure or a random wave in the asphalt. The final corner was the most technically difficult I’ve skated in a long time. Once you linked 2 apexes between a shrub, a depressed manhole cover and a janky curb you had to bank really hard to the next righty where you had literally half a second to breathe before you set up the pre-drift initiation. If you slid to early, you had too much speed to make the corner when you hooked up. If you slid too late you were in the hay. If you slid just right, you still had to hunt for the apex hidden by bushes. I took the win at this event after some brutal knockout racing rules. You had to win your qualifying heats to reach the finals. 

You won or you lost, simple. Amazing roots-style race trace from Shred O Grande. 

I’d give this track a Gnar Factor 8/10 and a Tech Factor 7/10."

Joe at the back of the line-up... he says "Had to make a crazy pass to take the win!"

 Many thanks for taking the time to tell us about it Joe, we really appreciate it & all of us at SMB Bearings Ltd send you our love & congratulations on your success.

Joe's victory even made the papers!  If your Spanish is up to it, you can check out the full story here :-)

SMB Bearings Ltd are moving premises this month...

Ian Emery, RC Heli pilot, season round-up...

We're always thrilled to hear from our friend & RC Heli flying legend Ian Emery & he's very kindly taken time out of his hectic life to send us this great season report:

Ian Emery pictured piloting at the BMFA British Nationals recently - pretty iconic image!   

Ian says "It’s been an interesting year and it’s gone so quickly, I can’t believe another season is over.  I have been rather distracted this past 9 months with lots going on, notably the safe arrival of our second baby. 

Early in the New Year I gained sponsorship and a place on the JR Macgregor flight team and an opportunity to switch to the JR Sylphide EX, a helicopter I have dreamed about owning since I started flying RC helicopters. 

Ian's JR Sylphide EX in action...

Much of the pre-season was spent building and getting the helicopter setup, being an 800 size helicopter it is larger than anything else that I had flown and managed to enjoy whatever days that were available getting used to flying it.

The first Competition of the euro-season was held in Vitry-Le-Francios in France at the beginning of May, it was a good turnout with some very good pilots from 5 different Countries.  Disappointingly I finished last, but the quality of flying was exceptionally high and it gave me lots of ideas on how I could improve as the season progressed.  The following week we made the trip back to Lendelede in Belgium.  It was almost a replay of last year with winds up to 40mph on the Saturday which made things particularly difficult for everyone.  Over the course of the weekend I managed to battle my way up the leader board and finished in 7^th place which I was thrilled about given the result from the week before.

There was then a 4 week break before travelling to Scotland for the Scottish Heli Nationals in the middle of June.  So I went back to my training field to get lots more practice.  I felt very determined by time we arrived and after a long battle with my good friend Roger Mayo, I managed to finish ahead of him in second place which was just amazing. 

There was then quite a long break whilst the British Team travelled to Austria for the World Championships in July.  

August brought the 1^st Team trial and the BMFA BritishNationals at the end of the month.  It was a bit of a poor turnout for the 1^st Team trials with only 3 pilots.  Roger and I were once again very close in our scoring.  After 4 rounds I was only 3 points behind him.  This left it all to play for at the Nationals.  Arriving at the Nationals I didn’t feel prepared at all.  A week in hospital and lack of sleep following the birth of Oliver meant that I hadn’t flown at all in about 3 weeks.  

The first couple of rounds I was frustrated by a few silly mistakes which resulted in big downgrades with my scores.  Roger also made a few mistakes which meant the scores were still very close.  In the end I won 2 of the rounds and Roger won 2.  When all the scores had been added together Roger had increased his lead slightly which resulted in my finishing 3^rd for the Team selection and 3^rd in the British Nationals.  

We have had some really good battles throughout the year and it’s always nice to kick back and have a few beers with everyone at the end of the day.

I'm really pleased to have made it into the Team for the European Championships next year in Poland, but there’s no time to rest.  There is a new schedule to learn and I am hoping to get a second Sylphide in the air so that I have a back-up machine just in case.  So I’m just trying to make the most of the good weather and have started training ready for next year.

I would just like to take this opportunity to thank all of the staff at SMB Bearings for your continued support which has been amazing.  Good luck with the move to the new premises!"

Thanks very much indeed Ian - many congratulations on the safe arrival of Oliver, the newest addition to the Emery household & for continuing on with your flying season.  We're honoured to support such a gentleman & a brilliant ambassador for the RC Heli community.  

Roll on the 2016 season & more adventures!

If you would like to follow how Ian & the Team are getting on check out these websites:

Euro Heli Series  www.euroheliseries.net

British F3C Team  www.teamf3cuk.co.uk

European Championships  http://rcheli-echs2016.pl/

SMB's big move approaches & a new era begins...

Well, we are very excited to announce that we now have a provisional moving date for our new premises. On the 17th October, we'll be making the move (hopefully, barring any last-minute snags) from our old building in Brize Norton to our new home at Ventura Business Park in Carterton.

The main office, all it needs now is our furniture!

 The interior building work is completed, flooring is laid, cables & telecoms are installed - all we need to do now is move our office, furniture & many thousands of bearings to the new unit!!

Colin practicing his clog dancing curtsy in the meeting room!

With the new move we'll also have an exciting new employment opportunity,

for a general office & warehouse assistant, so if you fancy being a vital part of the SMB Bearings Ltd team then why not contact us for further details or just send us your CV (all applications will be treated in the strictest confidence).  Go on, don't be shy - we'll look forward to hearing from you!

The new warehouse racking is being delivered & installed this week & then we're good to go!

SMB's new premises at Ventura Park - let there be light!

The kitchen is nearly ready, let there be coffee!

The re-lubrication room's worktops are being cut to size & installed next week 

The ante-room to the re-lubrication room is nearly ready... 

The meeting room has lighting & wiring - also an alien slug seems to have taken up temporary residence...

The main office is now wired & lit & the painting is nearly completed too.

We're really impressed by how light & airy the office is going to be...

...if a little startled by just how much wiring it takes to get the whole "light & airy" thing going!!

We'll be finalising the moving-in date very soon & we'll let you know asap when the big day is - so excited!!!

Schaeffer Mclean - Skate Video Finalist SKATE BELIEVE - NYJAH HUSTONE

Schaeffer Mclean's latest adventures caught on YouTube :-)

Schaeffer says:
"Our Entry to the Skate Video Competition FixUP DIYBristol. We came 4th out of 16. Rules: make a video 3 days, I was suffered an injury in the weeks beforehand, so we had to find a stunt double to film my skateparts. This left us just one day to film and make this Vid. Many thanks to Rafferty Maitland King for being my stunt double. Nyjah's voiceover by Khiry Tha Young Prod'G. Main Skater Jeb Burns, and Ollie Pillinger my Skatepal. Rafferty performed the Big Three and Jeb performed the Double Kickflip in my shoes.... about 4 sizes smaller than his own... big props to them both, and Ollie for being such a talented Actor!! Thanks for watching. #nyjahhustone #tonyhawktoast"

Well done on placing fourth Schaeffer, that's quite an achievement!

SMB Surplus Sale!

Get the bargains before they're all snapped up!

F1 in Schools World Championships 2015 - SMB Bearings sponsor Team Apex...

Here at SMB Bearings we have a proud history of supporting STEM projects & in particular for young competitors in the F1 in Schools events.  We are delighted to announce that we are sponsoring Team Apex from Deans Community High School at this year's World Championship event, being held in Singapore next month.

The team really appealed to us with their enthusiasm & professionalism & - combine this with their technical prowess & we reckon they're onto a winner! :-)  You can see for yourself how hard they've worked to get to the world finals - watch their journey to the national finals here:

Team Apex's car for the F1 in Schools national finals

All us of at SMB Bearings would like to wish Team Apex the very, VERY best of luck for the competition & we look forward to bringing you updates on their progress next month.  In the meantime, you can follow the team's shenanigans through their website or via their Twitter & Facebook pages...

SMB Bearings Ltd, our new office - a room with a view!

The work on our new premises continues apace & we look all set for our move at the end of September - you can see some of the progress below:

Check out the view from our new offices...

...compared to the current office's vista (pictured above), it's going to be amazing!! :-)

The lighting & heating have been installed in the vast warehouse...

The office & technical areas, as seen from the warehouse...

The technician's re-lubrication lair is still a little bare, but all the equipment should be arriving in the next three weeks

The lovely Jason, from Tapper Interiors, who has been working so hard for us

Our view from the office into the warehouse...

It will be wonderful to have so much warehouse space for our expanding product range & we look forward very much to welcoming clients in our new meeting room & office suite.  

WE CAN'T WAIT!!

Visit SMB's eBay skate shop...

We have a range of specialist skate bearings available & also the grease to keep them running smoothly.  If you'd like to purchase some premium skate bearings from us, please visit our eBay listings today - we are proud to have received excellent feedback from our customers:

Touch Bionics "i-limb quantum" does morning coffee...

Brilliant video from our customer Touch Bionics, showcasing their innovative prosthetics making life's essential jobs just a little easier...

It's wonderful to think that our precision miniature EZO bearings are used by Touch Bionics in such magnificent designs! :-)

SMB's August newsletter

See our latest newsletter HERE

If you'd like to sign up to receive the latest news from SMB Bearings, please email emma@smbbearings.com with the subject "newsletter" & we'll add you to the list (you can unsubscribe at any time & your email address will not be used for any other purpose or passed on to third parties).