69
CHAPTER SEVEN
The milestone reached in 2014 of
60 years in business is an uncommon
accomplishment. Vp has achieved a great
deal by adapting and maintaining its
values of remaining a focused, committed
and caring company. So much has been
realised already and there is much to
celebrate but so much more to do.
From its first early ambitious plans to
make an impact in Australia, the company
now has a presence not only in Australia
but South East Asia, the Far East, the
Middle East, South America and Europe.
As from the start of the millennium,
Vp’s transformational changes can be
measured in many different, positive
ways. From a purely financial aspect, it
has increased its turnover from £55m in 2000 to nearly £200m
today with profits increased at the same time from £3.4m to
£20.1m. Such results are a testament to the quality of the business
and the skills of its workforce.
The achievements of the last 60 years are impressive. And it is
surely extraordinary to reflect that, following on from those nine
committed workers who set sail with Fred and Geoffrey Pilkington
to Australia in 1957, there is today a talented team of more than
1,750 individuals. How we come together now as a team is
illustrated in ViewPoint. Stories in our twice-yearly English and
German language publication cover celebratory events, stalwart
charity fund-raising efforts and long service awards of which,
happily, there are many.
In celebrating our 60th anniversary, Vp pays tribute to past and
present members of its loyal and dedicated workforce. Fred and
Geoffrey Pilkington would surely be proud of what the company
stands for today.
4
NEWS
FROM AROUND THE DIVISIONS
ProjectmanagerAlexanderHolzmüllerexplained:
“Parking space isextremely scarce in theMunichmetropolitanarea.
For this reason, the twoexistingbasement floorswere tobeused in
thenewbuildingasundergroundparking. Inorder to secure the
basementwalls,weopted for theGroundforce support system. For
usas contractors, theGroundforce solutionoffered theadvantageof
fast installationand removal. The system isextremely flexibleand
readilyavailableandallows forminor correctionsandadjustments.”
JörgHeidmeier, salesmanagerGroundforceGermany,
toldViewPoint:
“Wewerepleased towin the contract toworkon thisproject for
WGMarkgrafGmbH&CoKG. The successful implementationof the
Groundforce system componentsonceagainunderlined the
particular strengthsofour support solutions. Additionally, thanks to
themodulardesignof theGroundforce system, lastminute change
requests to theoverall configurationwereable tobe carriedout ina
timelyandefficientmanner –aperfectdemonstrationofboth
flexibilityandavailability.”
News from Groundforce Germany
GroundforceGermanyhas recently completedaproject
for the renowned construction company
WGMarkgrafGmbH&CoKGduring the redevelopment
ofanofficebuilding inMunich into24 residential
apartments.Headquartered in thenorthernBavarian
townofBayreuth forover80years,WGMarkgraf isone
of the leading construction companies inGermany.
During the redevelopmentprojectworks, theGroundforce system
componentsofhydraulicunits,mechanical strutsandmega-braces
wereable toprove theirutility in two respects; firstlyduring the
demolition stageof theoldbuildingand secondly, in the subsequent
constructionof thenew residentialbuilding. During thedemolition
stage, itwasdecided to leave thebasementwallsof theoldbuilding
intactand to redevelop this spaceasundergroundparking for the
new residentialapartments. This required theprotectionofa large
pitmeasuringapproximately25mx28m in size.
Airpac Bukom appoints new
Director for the Americas
for the region.
Therearemanychallengesahead,however,
Iamconfident thatAirpacBukomhas the
correctstrategy todeliverexcellentcustomer
serviceanddevelopsuccessfullywithin the
market.”
HaydnDavies,AirpacBukomManaging
Directorcommented:
“Chrishasawealthofknowledge in the
industryandwillbeakeyaddition to the
teamasweaim tobuildonoursuccessand
expandourpresence in theAmericas region.
RecentnewappointmentssupportAirpac
Bukom’scommitment toprovide thehighest
levelofservice inanever-evolving
marketplace. Weareconfident thatour
businesswillbenefit fromChris’s in-country
experienceandcustomer focusedapproach
to theposition.”
Chrisbringswithhimawealthofexperience
in the industryhaving joined fromCoates
OffshoreasHeadofBusinessDevelopment–
EmergingMarkets. Withinhisnew rolehe is
keen to increasecustomer focusandbroaden
theportfolioofactivitywithin theAmericasoil
andgasmarketsector forAirpacBukom.
Chriswillbe relocating to the regionandwill
be responsible for localbaseactivitiesaswell
asbusinessdevelopment.
Thisappointment ispartofAirpacBukom’s
globalgrowthstrategy,with theprimary focus
beingan increasedpresence inbothNorth
andSouthAmerica.
Chriscommented:
“TheAmericashas longbeenhailedas the
‘landofopportunity’. Iamveryexcited to
joinadynamic company,withanambitious
seniormanagement team,as theDirector
AirpacBukom ispleased toannounce
theappointmentofChrisTayloras
Director for theAmericas.
ChrisTaylor
16/07/2014 16:05 Page 4
Issue19Summer2014
CityNews
News from around theDivisions
CharityNews
PeopleNews
INSIDE
both theSafeHireCompanyof theYearand
Catalogueof theYearcategories.
Inorder towin theHAEHireCompanyof
th YearAward,HireStationpresenteda
fully roundedaccountof thebusiness,
which included input fromemployeesnew
andold,plus feedback froma customer
survey, focusingon comments fromkey
accounts.
Theawardsubmissionalso lookedatareas
ofbusiness focusover theprevious twelve
months,healthandsafety,andenvironment,
alongwithworkforcedevelopmentand
training. Itplacedgreatemphasison the
teameffortwhichmakesHireStationa
leader in theUK toolhiremarket.
Welcome...
Hire Station scoops
Hire Association Europe
company award
HireStationcelebratedsuccessat this
year’sHireAwardsofExcellence,after
achieving theaccoladeofHireAssociation
Europe (HAE)Companyof theYear (over
5outlets).
The40thannualHireAssociationAwards
recently tookplaceatTheSavoy,London.
Independently judged, theawardsgenuinely
recogniseexcellence throughout theHire
Industry,acknowledging thesuccessesof the
hirersandsuppliersalongwithsuccessful
individualswhosetthestandard.
HireStationwasalso thewinner in theDepot
Managerof theYearcategory,withShropshire
basedSpencerCourtnell flying the flag for the
business. During theyear,Spencerhas
producedgreat results i bothof thebranches
hemanages (Telford ndShrewsbury)and
asbeenavitalpartof the teambringing the
SafetyGuardians initiative toHireStation. He
hascompletedhisL3NVQandManagement
LeadershipProgrammeand justundertakena
NEBOSHcourse. He ishighly thoughtofbyall
his teammembersand isa thoroughly
deservedwinnerof theaccolade.
HireStationwasalsohighlycommended in
Reading theSummer2014editionof
ViewPoint,and inparticular“News from
Around theDivisions”, Iam struckby
the increasingbreadthofVpgroup
ctivities. Our increasinggeographic
fo tprint isalsohighlightedwithnews
fromGermany, theAmericasand
Australia,aswellas theUK. Asyouwill
see fromAllison’s“CityWatch” section,
theVpgroup remains ingood
alth
andwearewellpositioned toprosper
furthergoing forward.
Locally, inYorkshireand theSouth Eastof
England,wehaveover the lastweek
enjoyeda stunningweekendof sportwith
theTourde France “GrandDepart”attracting
unprecedented crowds. Thishas in some
way compensated for England failing in the
footballWorldCup thoughwithonly the final
togoat the timeofwriting,our colleagues
inGermanywillhaveaverydifferent
perspective!
NeilStothard
GroupManagingDirector
