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[April 2009]
Obituary – Kevin Farrell
Kevin Farrell, Chief Executive of the British Ceramic Confederation for 25 years, died peacefully at the Douglas MacMillan Hospice in the early hours of 28 March 2009.
Kevin was educated at St Joseph’s College, Stoke-on-Trent and graduated from the Royal School of Mines Imperial College London. During his years of higher education, his experiences were broadened by undertaking vocational work and scholarships in the USA and Spain between 1964 and 1966. Later he studied for a national postgraduate diploma in Management Studies at what is now Staffordshire University.
Kevin began his career in the late 1960s working for the National Coal Board in Staffordshire, where he was responsible for manpower planning and consultation. He moved to the Board's national headquarters in 1973 where he was responsible for incentive payments and conditions of service for mineworkers. An early convert to information technology, Kevin worked on one of the first remote computer terminals to be imported to the UK and used his skills to build complex and integrated databases that evaluated coalface operations.
After working in the mining industry during an historic period of change, Kevin joined the British Ceramic Confederation in 1984. BCC is a trade association that provides vital support for UK manufacturers of ceramics. From tableware to bricks, from tiles to bathroom furniture, the BCC represents the full range of ceramic production. During his tenure Kevin helped the industry to operate more effectively in the global marketplace, in particular in the USA and Europe.
Kevin, an experienced lobbyist and negotiator, was proud of how the BCC united diverse companies to focus on projects and campaigns that supported the industry as a whole. In recent years he devoted much attention to influencing Government policy in relation to energy pricing and supply and, as Chairman of the Energy Intensive Users Group, he helped secure more favourable market conditions for manufacturing industry generally. As Chairman of the Coalition for Safe Ceramicware in the USA, he defended the UK tableware and giftware industry’s interests in the face of burdensome legislation that could have seriously impacted on sales in North America.
A highlight of Kevin’s career was the completion of a three-year project to produce a beautiful china tableware service for Her Majesty the Queen to mark her Golden Jubilee. World-famous names in ceramics including Spode, Royal Doulton, Wedgwood, Steelite International, Aynsley, Dudson, Royal Crown Derby and Johnson Matthey contributed to the design and production of the 93-piece collection dessert service. Kevin was part of the small team from BCC that presented the gift to the Queen at Windsor Castle in June 2003.
Kevin was also a dedicated supporter of Stoke-on-Trent College and other local educational institutions. He served on the Council at Keele University for many years. In 2004 he was awarded an Honorary Doctorate by Staffordshire University in recognition both of his contribution to the ceramics industry and towards the development of further and higher education in North Staffordshire.
BCC President Ian Dudson paid tribute: “Kevin made an immense contribution to the ceramics industry, not only in North Staffordshire, but nationally and internationally, during his 25 years at the helm of the BCC. He approached every task and issue with immense enthusiasm and vigour to ensure that the UK industry’s interests were safeguarded and promoted. He was also instrumental in forging practical and appropriate solutions to the development of further and higher education in North Staffordshire. He will be greatly missed by his many friends and colleagues both in the industry and beyond”.
Kevin, who was 64, leaves a widow, Jackie.
ENDS