A message from our CEO
Welcome to the latest edition of InReach, as we race towards the end of the year, I think it’s worth looking back on an incredibly busy 2022! This year marked the first full year under our new owners, Aprolis. We have seen the creation of both Aprolis UK and a new division Aprolis Equipment distribution, we’ve seen many new people join our business and importantly many have continued their careers with us. All of this has been underpinned by us serving an ever-growing number of customers.
Our business continues to offer products and services that are in demand, across our material handling and industrial solutions businesses we have much to offer, but none of that would be possible without you, our teams of people who are committed to helping each other and our customers.
Within this edition of InReach you will learn about the relaunch of our Industrial Door business, something of a secret in our business, the team headed by Paul Phillips are creating something I think will be a significant part of Aprolis UK in the future, watch for rapid growth in this business.
It was great to see so many locations get into the Christmas spirit with tree decorating competition, although some of the jumpers leave a bit to be desired!
I would like to highlight two areas of our business for special mention at year end, firstly our Corby Equipment preparation and admin support team, this year has seen the highest numbers of trucks go through Corby, the team have faced quite some challenges this year, but they have managed to work though and deliver some very good results, thanks to all of them. The next group I would like to thank are our engineers, without doubt the bedrock of our business, they see more customers than anyone, they work in all environments on such a wide variety of equipment, I can say, having been in this industry for over 30 years, we have some of the best in the business.
I would like to take the opportunity to thank everyone in our businesses for their hard work and commitment in 2022, there are exciting times ahead for Aprolis UK and I look forward to sharing them with you all.
Merry Christmas to you and your families.
HC High Voltage Li-ion Forklifts
HC Forklifts UK have recently taken delivery of a new XH High Voltage Li-ion forklift which amazingly has a 12-hour run time on a single charge and only takes 1 hour for a full recharge.
They range from 2 – 16 tonne and have proven to be extremely popular with the first 14 trucks already delivered and another 8 being prepped.
“Watch this space for its Big Brother!”
SEE PHOTO
Outokumpu Stainless
Nigel Somers, Regional Sales Manager for Impact Handling’s northern sales team has just signed a 46-truck deal with Outokumpu. The deal included a mixture of new forklifts which increased their numbers by 13 machines, and more importantly renewing and retaining their existing fleet. The best part of this deal was winning an additional site from one of our competitors making us the principal supplier for Outokumpu.
Well Done, Nigel!
SEE PHOTO
Promotions
If you want something badly enough, you need to go out there and earn it. And that’s exactly what you have all done – Congratulations on your promotion!
| TEAM | NAME | LOCATION | CURRENT TITLE | NEW TITLE |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| GHL Industrial Doors | Isobella Read | Bristol | General Administrator | Service Coordinator | Grant Handling | Hannah Read | Kent | Service Coordinator | Service Supervisor | Grant Handling | Mikael Woods | Surrey | Depot Manager | Kent & Surrey Depot Manager | Grant Handling | James Ede | Surrey | Workshop Hand | Parts Coordinator |
| Impact Handling | Dean Webber | Ipswich | Field Service Engineer | Senior Engineer |
| Impact Handling | Darrell Parry | Melksham | Field Service Engineer | Senior Engineer |
| Impact Handling | Mark Wheldon | Hull | Field Service Engineer | Senior Engineer |
| AED | Liam Clamp | Nottingham | Marketing Manager | Warehouse Products Dealer Manager |
| Impact Handling | John Maynard | Corby | Workshop Engineer | Senior Engineer |
| TEAM | NAME | LOCATION | CURRENT TITLE | NEW TITLE |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Impact Handling | Ellen Summers | Nottingham | Credit Controller – Major Accounts | Credit Control Supervisor |
| Impact Handling | Robert Nyari | Nottingham | Senior Field Service Engineer | Assistant Workshop Manager |
| Grant Handling | Colin Armit | Scotland | Regional Sales Manager | General Manager Sales – Scotland |
| Grant Handling | Lee Williams | Bristol | Service Manager | Depot Manager |
| Grant Handling | Gary Llewellyn | Bristol | Service Coordinator | Service Manager |
| Impact Handling | Yvonne Mcmillan | Nottingham | Credit Control Manager | Group Commercial Manager |
| Impact Handling | Hughie Coull | Corby | Labourer | Logistics Supervisor |
| Impact Handling | Ross Farquhar | Leeds | Management Trainee | Support Manager, National Operations |
“We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.”
New Roles – Onwards and upwards
Congratulations to our team members who have moved into brand new roles!
Natalie Irving, Grant Handling – Surrey to Asset Controller
Andrew Bairstow, Impact Handling – Bristol to Regional Operations Manager
Karl Wright, Impact Handling – Corby to Field Service Manager
Cameron Dawkins, GHL Doors – Bristol to Trainee Doors Engineer
Paul Phillips, GHL Doors – Leeds to General Manager
We’re creating new job roles to support our expanding business and to meet our customer and operational challenges.
Keep your eye on the HR email which details these new opportunities, as we advertise all roles internally first.
Milestones
We’d like to recognise those who have worked for us for many years, below are people who have achieved significant milestones this year, we thank them for their on-going loyal service and wish them well for many more years to come!
| NAME | LOCATION | LENGTH OF SERVICE |
|---|---|---|
| Jamie Hynes | Hull | 30 |
| Alan Seagrave | Hull | 30 |
| Michael Young | Corby | 30 |
| Martyn Blount | Nottingham | 25 |
| David Broadley | Hull | 25 |
| Steven Hoe | Hull | 25 |
| Gary Robertson | System II | 25 |
| Sean Smith | Surrey | 30 |
| Alan Earl | Kent | 25 |
| Clifford Rice | Kent | 25 |
| Russell Jenkins | Bristol | 25 |
| Michael Clarke | Kent | 25 |
Spotlight
iDoor Solutions (IDS)
We are excited to announce a rebranding and relaunch of our industrial door division, formerly GHL industrial door service now iDoor Solutions. This rebranding is the culmination of a lot of work in 2022 to get our Industrial door business ready for significant growth. This new branding provides us with an opportunity to launch a new website (www.idoorsolutions.co.uk), a new logo and new vans. These vans are uniquely equipped with Mi towers allowing them to work safely at height without the need for additional access support.
The Doors business has grown significantly over time in the Southwest but now we have skilled fully qualified engineers covering South Wales, the Home Counties, Yorkshire and the Northwest, supported by two locations in Bristol and Leeds. Being part of Aprolis and the timing of this rebranding really offers us a great platform to grow into a truly national supplier.
iDoor Solutions is headed by Paul Phillips (General Manager) and Alick Jeffery (Operations Manager).
Steve Shakespeare comments ‘Diversification is part of our long-term strategy, our Industrial door business has enormous potential to build on what the team have already achieved but on a larger scale, we fully expect to see iDoor solutions become a national company offering great products and services through a fantastic team of people’.
Q & A With Paul Wade
Assistant Workshop Manager
Tell us about your career at Impact?
Paul’s Answer
I started as a labourer and after a short time working alongside some of the engineers really wanted to move into that area of the business. My next step was an apprentice engineer. I worked very hard and was determined to become something in this company. I took every opportunity that was presented to me and learned from everyone I worked with, and today I am an assistant workshop manager and will stick to my goal and keep progressing.
What is the most rewarding part of your job?
Paul’s Answer
Seeing my team achieve what they never thought they could.
Has anything embarrassing happened to you at work?
Paul’s Answer
When I first started, I forgot to tighten a hose on a forklift and got absolutely covered in hydraulic oil.
Is there anything you do in your personal time which helps you be a better leader?
Paul’s Answer
The only thing I can think of right now is being a dad 🙂
What is your favourite pastime?
Paul’s Answer
Spending as much time as I can with my kids, I colour and build blocks with them, and I like to work on my car.
Tell me a fact that people don’t know about you?
Paul’s Answer
I have recently started cooking and really enjoy it.
If you were to give someone across the group, one piece of advice, what would it be?
Paul’s Answer
Set small targets, keep going and never give up!
New Staff
Please join us in welcoming the following new staff who joined us at the start of quarter three. As we are seeing continuous growth across our businesses, we thrive to invest more in our people to get the support we need.
Christopher Chapman
Zsolt Eross
Shayne Stubbs
Richard Denby
Jordan Frost
Joshua Palmer
Michelle Anderson
Wayne Godfrey
Ian Rolfe
Kameron Pepper
Mark Goodwin
Harvey Blair
Daniel Barber
Harry Thomas
Will Voakes
Julie Barker
Michael Runicles
Andrew McQueenie
Jamie Ward
Zed Dexter
Declan Knoble
Mandy Carter
Jordan Mansell
Lee Dooler
Sophie Hey
Harry Jones
Lee Holmes
John Griffin
Nick Donnelly
Oscar Dyson
Michael Eaves
Ian Bissell
Pheobe Hardy
| NAME | LOCATION | ROLE |
|---|---|---|
| Momina Mahmud | Nottingham | HR Administrator |
| Danny Pugh | Doncaster | Field Service Engineer |
| Karl Wright | Corby | Field Service Manager |
| Andrew Dare | Nottingham | Major Account Manager |
| Clive Burton | Birmingham | Field Service Engineer |
| Vincenzo Riccio | Corby | Field Service Engineer |
| Jonathan Cooke | Corby | Field Service Engineer |
| Mitchell Banfield | Kent | Trainee Parts Assistant |
| Ricky Davis | Bristol (Grant) | Field Service Engineer |
| Sandra Lukosiute | Nottingham | Credit Controller |
| Stephen Handley | Midlands | Parts Coordinator |
| Robin Witts | Bristol | Field Service Engineer |
| Daniel Irvine | Surrey | General Labourer |
| Stephane Kermath | Ipswich | Parts Coordinator |
| Luke How | Corby | Field Service Engineer |
| Robert Attfield | Corby - Systems 2 | General Labourer |
| John Mellon | Corby - Systems 2 | General Labourer |
| Mark Wilson | Nottingham | Procurement Manager |
| Nick Hewitt | Ipswich | Service Coordinator |
| Michael Doyle | Manchester | Field Service Engineer |
| Mark Hayton | Manchester | Field Team Leader |
| David Sugden | Hull | Service Manager |
Congratulations on being part of our team! The whole company welcomes you, and we look forward to a successful journey with you all! Welcome aboard!
Christmas Crossword
Clues:
1. The 24 days before Christmas
2. Father Christmas’ preferred mode of transport
3. A common decoration hung on a tree
4. Do not open these until Christmas!
5. The colour of Rudolph’s nose
6. Christmas drink sometimes called ‘Milk Punch’
7. Name for Father Christmas originating in the USA
8. Happy Christmas in Spanish, ____ Navidad
9. ____ bells
10. The centrepiece of a traditional Christmas dinner
11. Leave these out for Father Christmas
12. Down – How many ghosts show up in A Christmas Carol?
12. Across – ____ tale of New York by The Pogues
Enjoy Benefits
Don’t forget to use the discount hub for your Christmas presents this year!
Enjoy Benefits launched on the 16th September and we are keen to get some feedback from you whether its positive or negative so that we can try to make improvements/changes if necessary.
Christmas Jumper Day and Depot Christmas Competition
You would have seen your surprise Christmas packages arrive last week. We challenged every depot to see who could come up with the best Christmas scene.
Here are some of the best scenes:
REVEAL WINNER
Melksham
This was judged by an independent design company.
You have won everyone in your depot a prize! Look out for your gifts in the post.
Recommendations – The best latest films to watch
The recommendation section is for you to share with us/recommend any books you’ve read, movies you’ve watched, music you’ve listened to, holiday destinations you’ve been on. For this newsletter we have chosen the best latest films you can watch! Please send in your recommendations.
All Quiet on the Western Front
War Drama
Available on Netflix
Released October 28th – A young German Soldiers terrifying experiences and distress on the western front during World War I.
Avatar: The Way of Water
Sci-fi/Adventure
In Cinemas from 16th December
Finally, the second avatar is to be released 13 years after the first film in 2009. In The way of the Water Jake Sully lives with his newfound family formed on the planet of Pandora. Once a familiar threat returns to finish what was previously started, Jake must work with Neytiri and the army of the Na’vi race to protect their planet.
Enola Holmes 2
Mystery/Crime
Available on Netflix
A second film in the popular sequel – Enola Holmes now a detective-for-hire, Enola Holmes takes on her first official case to find a missing girl as the sparks of a dangerous conspiracy ignite a mystery.
______
Submit your recommendations here and feature in our next newsletter!
Quote of the day
“People are so worried about what they eat between Christmas and the New Year, they should really be worried about what they eat between the New Year and Christmas.”
Competition
September’s competition Winner: Ian Houghton – who suggested that our next competition is Strangest Looking Pet. Congratulations Ian, the marketing team will contact you to give you your prize!
So to win a £40 Amazon gift card send us your pictures/ videos of your funniest/ weirdest moments of your pets to joe.hazeldine@granthandling.com
Good luck!
Feedback
We wish you all a very happy Christmas and a successful 2023!
Suggestion Section
Do you think we should have a competition in the next newsletter?
Let us know your competition ideas!
The best suggestions will be given an Amazon Gift Card and the winners will feature in our next issue.
Feedback
We are open to all your feedback.
If there is something you’d like to comment on or see that we have missed, tell us!