Howler 40th Anniversary Video — Full Transcript

Attributed transcript for website publication  •  July 2026

Ian Askew, Founder

I’m Ian Askew. I started the firm Howler in 1986. The first employees we had were family and my daughter. She worked in the office. She gave me a chance to do more work on the road. We created the first battery-operated alarm. I went round sites and saw the rotary handbell. The rotary handbells were rather an old-fashioned idea.

Gary Askew, Managing Director

Innovation has always been a key driver at Howler. We’ve never been short of new ideas, but the challenge is bringing those ideas to fruition. We believe in making things better.

In the 90s, we created the first battery-operated alarm for construction sites, simply because we could see that it was a better way to raise the alarm than turning a rotary handbell. We named it after the world’s loudest animal, the howler monkey, and that was the beginning of a journey of continuous evolution.

Today at Howler, nothing stands still. Customer needs have grown more complex and our solutions are more technical, but fundamentally our purpose hasn’t changed. We’re still all about helping the customer to reach compliance as quickly as possible and as cost-effectively as possible.

Ian Askew, Founder

I think what we’re doing in Howler today is that we’re saving lives tomorrow. Howler has always been about saving lives and livelihoods.

Gary Askew, Managing Director

In 2016, the team created what we call the diamond culture. Of all the precious stones, the diamond is perhaps best known for its durability. The diamond culture is really the secret of the enduring success of Howler. It summarises the key principles that define how we approach everything.

Consie Askew, Customer Service — Care

Care at Howler doesn’t just mean we care for our colleagues and our customers, but we truly care about what we do. We look out for each other and for every person relying on Howler.

Les Safe, Production Supervisor — Can-do

The can-do attitude here at Howler — when a challenge comes our way, you’ll find us all rolling up our sleeves, getting stuck right in, looking for great solutions to get the job done.

Ruthie Debnam, Growth Account Manager — Commitment

Commitment at Howler means that our dedication runs deep, from the smallest detail in our product to the biggest promises we make our customers. We’re in this for the long haul, committed to making a real difference in safety and supporting those who trust us.

Logan Askew, Account Manager — Enthusiasm

Enthusiasm — there’s a real energy that drives us every day, a real passion for what we do and the impact that we have. And we bring that energy to every project, every conversation and every innovation, because we truly love helping to save lives and livelihoods.

George Goodman, Operations Manager — Excellence

Excellence at Howler is that we’re always striving to be the very best, not just in what we deliver, but in how we do it. It’s about constantly raising the bar, refining our craft, and ensuring that everything we put our name to is nothing short of outstanding.

Kenny Ryan, Project Manager — 2 Finsbury Avenue

So 2 Finsbury Avenue is a high-rise commercial project, and we’re at the stage we’re at now with finishing the cladding. Typically, on a standard project, you need to ensure that we have the right fire and emergency processes in place to ensure that people can, in the event of a fire, egress the building for a safe means of escape. On a high-rise building, that is particularly important. So Howler have supplied fire and emergency equipment, which are basically call points.

Steven Grace, Safety Manager — 2 Finsbury Avenue

For me, the big selling point when I first used Howler was the combined fire and first aid call points. On a project like this, which is 20 plus floors and 37 floors, you need early warning of someone becoming ill or becoming injured. Luckily enough on this project — and we’ve been here 3 years now — we’ve never had to use that first aid call point, but it’s one of those things that it’s nice to have; you hope never to use it.

Ben Askew, Sales Director

Our journey to this point has been very inspiring. What’s most important for me is how we continue that journey — how we continue to grow, how we continue to lead the industry forward, and how we continue to protect lives and livelihoods. We must keep evolving our products and services, so whether it’s in the construction sector or shipbuilding, we want to keep leading by example. We keep setting new standards, bringing new innovations to the market and making workplaces ultimately safer. Our aspiration is to be the number one provider of temporary fire safety — that’s not just in the UK, but all around the globe.

Ian Askew

I think mainly the secret to success is the fact we recognise that the customer always needs to come first.

Gary Askew

At its heart, Howler is a family business. Dad started it 40 years ago and instilled into us those important values of hard work and survival of the fittest. And today, we’re a much bigger family, but those values are still part of who we are as a company.

Ian Askew

40 years on, we still have those same family values. We care for our customers and we’re committed to getting the job done right.