A message from our CEO
Welcome to the latest edition of InReach, we have much to share with you since the last edition
The most notable event of the year so far is our recent acquisition of Angus Lift trucks, we welcome to Aprolis UK a great team of people and an excellent business based in the Midlands. Angus will operate as a separate business and a subsidiary of Grant Handling, we will introduce the Heli brand to the business and its customers, they will experience the high level of build quality, excellent reliability and value for money that an increasing number of customers are seeing.
Across the rest of Aprolis UK we have seen a very busy start to 2023 with all businesses and divisions reporting high demand for our products and services. You will see in this edition details of some events we held early in the year, it was good to get our people and customers together to talk about the year ahead.
The international Aprolis Group continues to develop, in early 2023 a business in Portugal was added to the European platform, this now means Aprolis are present in France, Spain, The UK, Italy and Portugal, combined we are now in excess of 2000 people and we have an annual turnover of £500m. I have been working with my fellow country CEO’s as we work on the One Aprolis concept, this is where we are looking to take the very best from each country and share best practice, we are further looking to exploit all customer opportunities and focus on strategic projects across all countries and the group.
There will be more news to follow on the One Aprolis projects in the future, they will focus on group wide initiatives like telematics, procurement, asset management, European customers, and training and development.
Back in the UK I am pleased to see our management development program continue as the managers move into phase two, in this phase they will focus on how to support their teams in their day to day roles. We are also beginning the recruitment of this years intake of engineering apprentices, if you know anyone who may be interested share with them the details.
The focus for the next few months for our business is to continue to offer the best level of customer support, internally our focus is to ship as many trucks as possible through Corby, Dunsfold and Doncaster, we have a very strong order bank and customers are keen to get their trucks!
To close I once again welcome the entire Angus team to Aprolis UK and thank everyone for their continued efforts in supporting our customers and each other across all businesses and divisions.
Aprolis Events 2K23
Managers Kick Off Meeting
In January of this year, we held our first ever Aprolis UK managers kick-off meeting. It is the first time we have had managers from all the Aprolis businesses; Impact Handling, Grant Handling, Aprolis Equipment Distribution and iDoor Solutions working together for the whole company. It was great to put names to faces and to work together as one. The meeting ended on a high note recognising significant milestones that were achieved by some of our locations in 2022.
Aprolis UK Sales Conference
The first Aprolis UK Sales Conference was held in February this year at the Heart of England Conference Centre. Our salesforce from all our businesses came together for the first time. The day was enjoyed by all, not only getting to know colleagues from around the country but seeing all the products we as a business represent, in one room. Several salespeople across the board were recognised for accomplishing significant achievements in 2022.
Grant Handling Dealer Event
New and existing dealers came over from all parts of the UK and Ireland to see the latest Heli products to the range and get hands on. A fantastic opportunity for dealers to meet face to face with the Grant team and find out how we can support them! A massive thank you to our guests from the Heli factory who came over especially for our show and to give us an insight into what the future holds and to offer their expertise. Awards were given to those with a strong marketing and online presence, excellent commitment to Grant Handling and phenomenal growth from 2022!
An Exciting New Development – Hangcha Hydrogen Forklift
Hangcha recently launched the XC series hydrogen fuel cell forklift. As a step forward in development of hydrogen fuel cell forklifts, the XC series introduced key innovations for improving safety, reliability, and efficiency. These include distributed fuel cell technology and structure, and a permanent magnet synchronous drive system.
Key Features
- It can run for 4-6 hours off just 3 minutes of refuel time
- By switching to a hydrogen fuel cell forklift, all CO2 emissions can be eliminated
- Can be used in indoor and outdoor applications
- Perfectly suited for medium and heavy-duty operations
- Maintains high performance in conditions as cold as -30 Celsius
Easter Raffle
Last week we ran an Easter Raffle to giveaway some easter prizes!
All names were put into a generator and our winners received an Easter surprise from Hotel Chocolate!
Our Winners Were:
1st Prize – Richard Entwisle
2nd Prize – Sharon Patching
3rd Prize – Cameron Bertholini
Runner up Prizes
- Mikael Woods
- Stephanie Gell
- Kevin Wiltshire
- Alex Hodges
Q & A with the Marketing & Telesales Team
Erin | Joe | Barbara | Carol | Lynne | Angela
- Erin – Marketing for Aprolis Equipment Distribution and HC Forklifts
- Joe – Marketing for Grant Handling and iDoor Solutions
- Barbara – Telesales for Impact Handling and Special Projects
- Carol – Telesales for Grant Handling and iDoor Solutions
- Lynne – Telesales for Impact Handling and Aprolis Equipment Distribution
- Angela – Marketing for Aprolis UK Companies and Impact Handling
What’s the most rewarding part of marketing/telesales?
JOE’S ANSWER
Seeing our staff and customers engage and get stuck in with the competitions or events we put on
What the most exciting project you’ve worked on?
ANGELA’S ANSWER
I was involved in doing a short movie for CILT on automated guidance vehicles in Finland which was produced by channel 4 and presented by Fiona Bruce.
Tell us one fact that makes the team unique
CAROL’S ANSWER
We all work for different businesses and adapt and change when needed
What’s the most embarrassing/funniest thing that happened in the marketing department?
BARBARA’S ANSWER
Saying “love you, bye” to my boss on the phone straight after talking with my daughter
If you won the lottery, what would you do?
LYNNE’S ANSWER
Make more family memories with my husband, daughter and grandkids – Buy a motorhome and setup a dogs trust
Do you have any hidden talents?
JOE’S ANSWER
I can move my eyebrows up and down at different heights and move my ears at the same time
If you were an item in a warehouse, what would you be?
CAROL’S ANSWER
I would be a used truck, I may have identifying marks and damaged packaging but I still work
What’s one part of your job that nobody knows about?
ERIN’S ANSWER
I do all the marketing for HC and the products represented by AED – Konecranes, Carer, Mol and Mobicon. I am also good at analysing data
GUESS THE MOVIE
Reminders
Don’t forget to book your holidays
Don’t forget, we have launched a brand new tool so you can book your holiday online. All holidays need to be used up before the end of the year as no holidays will be paid out or carried over any longer.
Holiday can easily be booked at the click of a button. Go to this site to book – http://app-flexipay01/TMS
Apprenticeship Programme
DO YOU KNOW ANYONE INTERESTED IN AN APPRENTICE ROLE?
Do you have any friends or family that are looking to start their career being hands on with premium equipment in a varied environment?
Our benefits are better than most out there!
- 99% GUARANTEED JOB OFFER AT THE END OF THE PROGRAMME
- YEARLY TOOLING ALLOWANCES
- FULLY FUNDED LEVEL 3 INDUSTRY QAULIFICATION
- POTENTIAL PROGRESSIONS TO LEVEL 4
- ASSIGNED MENTOR FOR EACH APPRENTICE
- FANTASTIC STARTING SALARY – MINIMUM £14,927 – RISING WITH AGE AND SERVICE
If these sound good, successful recommendations will receive up to £2000.
We are looking for apprentices in the following areas:
Birmingham, Hull, Manchester, Newcastle, Bristol, Surrey, Kent, Nottingham, Doncaster, Scotland, Corby, Ipswich
This year will see our biggest influx of apprentices so if you are interested, contact us NOW!
PLEASE PASS THIS ON TO ANY FAMILY OR FRIENDS WHO MIGHT BE INTERESTED IN AN APPRENTICESHIP WITH OUR GROUP
Get them to apply through kris.barfoot@aprolisuk.co.uk
Health and Safety – We can all contribute
As a team, we can all contribute to a better and safer working environment for ourselves and our colleagues, we want to use the Newsletter to provide some information on some of the things we can do to achieve this.
In this edition of InReach we want to provide you with some information on how you could prevent a near miss from happening in your depot and why they should be reported.
The target for Aprolis UK is Zero Harm
Outside of Work
Bobby O’Donovan, at Impact Corby works alongside bereavement team and charity fundraisers to raise funds for new bereavement suite at local hospital
On the 4th October 2018 we lost our first baby, Rory O’Donovan at 37 weeks pregnant due to a placental abruption. We were put into the bereavement suite at our local hospital, Kettering General Hospital and was able to spend some time with Rory before saying goodbye to him and going home without him.
Whilst the care and the facilities couldn’t be faulted, the bereavement suite is located on the labour ward where the sounds of labouring mothers and the cries of new-borns could be heard which made a heart-breaking situation even harder. Since then, we have been working alongside the bereavement team and the charity fundraisers to raise funds for a new bereavement suite to be built away from the labour ward to provide a more private and suitable space to grieving families.
So far we have raised around 250,000 pounds and need to raise the remaining 250,000 pounds to fully fund the build.
Your support is hugely needed and appreciated.
If you would like to donate, please click the link below:
https://northamptonshirehealthcharity.co.uk/appeals/twinkling-stars-appeal/
Frances Winter, Sales Admin Supervisor at Grant Handling Surrey finishes 2nd place & reserve champion in National Carriage Driving Champion Finals
Frances says I have always had a real love of horses, I have been riding from the age of 3 and was introduced to carriage driving 20 years ago. I started going to competitions with my Connomera pony, Harry, working my way up to compete for regional and national events.
Carriage driving competitions consist of 3 phases, Dressage (obedience & responsiveness), Cones (skill & speed) and the Cross Country Marathon (speed/endurance & agility) normally held over two or three days.
Sadly Harry had to retire after qualifying for the National finals in 2017 after being diagnosed with COPD. In 2019 i was very fortunate to be offered an amazing horse, Rocky who i’ve been getting to know since lockdown.
Since then my horse and i have achieved the following:
- Windsor Park Club events – 6 events over the season – Finished 1st and 2nd
- Sandringham House – (Dressage 3rd, Marathon 1st, Cones 2nd) Finished 1st
- Windsor Park National Qualifier (Dressage 3rd, Marathon 3rd, Cones 3rd) Finished 3rd
- Glebe House National Qualifier – (Dressage 3rd, Marathon 1st, Cones 1st) Finished 1st
- National Finals – (Dressage 3rd, Marathon 1st, Cones 2nd) Finished 2nd & Reserve Champion
Frances Winter, Sales Admin Supervisor at Grant Handling Surrey finishes 2nd place & reserve champion in National Carriage Driving Champion Finals
Frances says I have always had a real love of horses, I have been riding from the age of 3 and was introduced to carriage driving 20 years ago. I started going to competitions with my Connomera pony, Harry, working my way up to compete for regional and national events.
Carriage driving competitions consist of 3 phases, Dressage (obedience & responsiveness), Cones (skill & speed) and the Cross Country Marathon (speed/endurance & agility) normally held over two or three days.
Sadly Harry had to retire after qualifying for the National finals in 2017 after being diagnosed with COPD. In 2019 i was very fortunate to be offered an amazing horse, Rocky who i’ve been getting to know since lockdown.
Since then my horse and i have achieved the following:
- Windsor Park Club events – 6 events over the season – Finished 1st and 2nd
- Sandringham House – (Dressage 3rd, Marathon 1st, Cones 2nd) Finished 1st
- Windsor Park National Qualifier (Dressage 3rd, Marathon 3rd, Cones 3rd) Finished 3rd
- Glebe House National Qualifier – (Dressage 3rd, Marathon 1st, Cones 1st) Finished 1st
- National Finals – (Dressage 3rd, Marathon 1st, Cones 2nd) Finished 2nd & Reserve Champion
Recommendations – Our Summer BBQ Picks
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 etc.
With Summer fast approaching, it’s time to fire up those BBQ’s. In this edition we have chosen some recipes you can have with your BBQ!
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Submit your recommendations here and feature in our next newsletter!
Quote of the day
‘Every day may not be good, but there is good in every day.’
Strangest Pet Competition
Thank you to all of those who sent in their pictures and videos of their pets, we had some funny ones!
REVEAL WINNER
Congratulations Filomena Grundy – your picture was by far the strangest of them all!
You have won a £40 Amazon Gift Card, a member of the marketing team will be in touch!
Suggestion Section
Have you achieved anything outside of work that you would like to share with the group?
This can be an achievement in any type of competition, an event you organised, money you raised for a good cause/ charities, completed a test of physical endurance etc!
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!