Formed in 2003 Protrim Ltd is
the amalgamation of Neale and Partridge coach trimming and Prototrim
Ltd.
Steve Neale and Mick Partridge started trading in December 1989, and have
built up a worldwide reputation, supporting various show cars for design
houses throughout the world. They have built up a reputation for quality that
is renowned.
Steve and Mick have worked on many overseas projects from Finland to
California.
Their background started from working together at Vauxhall design in Luton,
and when that moved to Germany (Russelsheim) they were approached by Aston
Martin Tickford to set up the Tickford Coachbuilding trim department,
working on the Tickford brand of vehicles (Capri, Taxi and Metro's) along
with working on various stretch limousines for Rolls Royce and the Sultan of
Brunei.
It was at Tickford they met a young Aston Martin trained apprentice Dave
Cox.
Dave left Aston Martin in 1983 to join Mick and Steve at Tickford.
Dave then left to work in the IAD Design Studio in Worthing, before
contracting around the world working in studio's as far flung as Japan,
California, South Africa, Brazil, Spain and several countries in mainland
Europe. Before returning to the UK to run the trim development facility in
Towcester for RLE International.
During this time Dave called on the support of Neale and Partridge to work
on many prestigious projects, such as the Ford Faction Show car for Ingini.
The RS Focus seat development programme, the DB9 front seat prototypes and
the Jaguar X600 seating programme.
It was inevitable that they would all end up working together again and in
the spring of 2003 RLE consolidated their business and amalgamated all there
UK facilities into their HQ in Basildon, the closure of Towcester was the
catalyst for Dave to approach Neale and Partridge and as they say the rest
is history, and Protrim was born.