Can you tell us a bit about yourself and your role as an industry leader?
I am 55, married with two boys who now live and work in London. I live in Poole in Dorset where I enjoy spending time on the water, playing golf, walking and cycling. I have been working in the lifting industry as group managing director of Reid Lifting since 2019. Over the past six years, I have concentrated on creating a vision and providing strong leadership across all areas of the business, enabling the management team and the wider team to achieve their potential and grow Reid’s domestic market. This includes expanding its export markets – including setting up a US entity in 2020 – enhancing product quality and production efficiency, and achieving outstanding levels of customer satisfaction, alongside robust financial growth.
My strategic vision, ability to articulate it and to get things done in a dedicated and disciplined way, combined with my commitment to excellence, have been pivotal in inspiring the Reid team and driving our many accomplishments. In addition, as a mediumsized and growing business, I have always been happy to roll up my sleeves and get stuck in to ensure that the team benefits from my experience and passion, and ultimately succeed in their endeavours. I especially enjoy getting involved in product development, marketing initiatives and spending time with our customers, visiting trade shows and exploring new markets, but overall, I just love the business of overcoming challenges, pushing for growth and success. I am fortunate that I have a great team that share my passion.
Can you tell us how you got into this industry and why?
My involvement in the industry was somewhat accidental and I had not set out to be a part of the lifting industry. I had previously run my own business, which I started from scratch, manufacturing permanently installed fall protection systems for building access and maintenance, and a wide variety of other industry segments such as aerospace, marine and ground transportation. I was fortunate enough to sell that business in 2012. The business had some adjacency to the lifting industry, but mostly it had a lot in common with the Reid Lifting business and so when the opportunity arose to acquire Reid in 2018 with a group of like-minded investors, I was very keen and instinctively knew what levers to pull to take the business forward and build on the success Reid had achieved up to that point. In particular, growing Reid’s export markets, expanding its product portfolio, building the brand, taking the business into new market segments and prioritising customer service and quality. Reid was a compelling opportunity with some very unique patented products and interesting customers and market segments. I could see clearly how I could use my experience to help Reid achieve all its potential and that is what brought me to the industry.
What makes your company stand out?
Reid stands out for many reasons, including our people and their expertise, our heritage (Reid will be 30 years old next year), our products, our commitment to our customers and providing outstanding levels of service and support – quality and safety is at the heart of everything we do. The business has very clear values that are understood and lived, and our team demonstrate very positive behaviours that enable us to succeed. A few examples of where we really stand out include some of our patented products, such as our Porta Gantry Rapide, which is a unique foldable gantry rated up to one-tonne capacity that can support both material lifting and personnel safety applications for confined space access and our Porta Davit Quantum, (also patented) a unique foldable davit that weighs just 20kg but is capable of lifting up to 600kg and is also dual rated for personnel safety applications. These and in fact all of our products are designed to provide customers with the highest levels of efficiency in their lifting operations while also providing the highest levels of safety and functionality.
Another area where we really stand out is our focus on product quality. Quality starts in our supply chain and runs all the way through the business. All Reid products are 100% inspected before they are shipped to customers and the business has a 99% internal quality rate. This means that 99% of products are right first time and pass our final internal quality inspection, which in turn means our customers receive a product they can rely on and put straight into service when they receive it. We take product quality – which has a direct impact of safety – very seriously and also personally if we ever give a customer a reason to be dissatisfied. Finally, I would add our commitment to inventory and being able to work to short lead times sets us apart and has really helped our customers, which in turn has helped the business to grow.
What do you like about the industry?
Well almost certainly the people and their passion for what they do. I was a judge for the LEEA Awards last year, which was truly insightful. I was very impressed by so many of the entrants. I also like the innovation that we are seeing in the industry, which is no mean feat. The lifting industry is as old as time, so the fact businesses are still finding ways to innovate to provide better safety and efficiency is testimony to the grit and determination of the people that work in it. The other thing I like is the diversity of applications that Reid is involved with and some of the challenges that get thrown at us, which require customisation and engineering knowhow. We have recently worked with Rolls Royce Aerospace to design custom gantries for lifting aircraft engines and last year, working with one of our hire partners, Reid gantries were used to erect the skeleton of the world’s largest dinosaur at the Natural History Museum. We have also become a key supplier to a number of electric vehicle companies to support safe lifting of large battery units and more recently data centres in support of personnel safety and access challenges. There is never a dull day at Reid and that is driven by customer need for safe lifting solutions for such a diverse range of challenges.
Why should people want to join and work in this industry?
The lifting industry plays a crucial role in various sectors such as construction, manufacturing, shipping, and logistics. People should consider joining and working in this industry for several compelling reasons.
For the reasons mentioned in the previous question, working in the lifting industry often involves working in diverse and dynamic environments, which can be very appealing to people who enjoy the challenge of a physically active role, where they can also apply their brain power. It also fosters a sense of achievement, as workers contribute directly to the construction of infrastructure, transportation systems and industrial facilities that are vital for economic development. It also offers numerous employment opportunities with a high demand for skilled and semiskilled workers, ensuring job stability and security. As infrastructure development and industrial activities expand globally, the need for lifting equipment operators, riggers and maintenance personnel as well as mechanical, electrical and structural engineers continue to grow, making it a resilient career choice with great opportunities for working overseas as well as in the UK. The industry also provides opportunities for skill development and career advancement, with LEEA being central to that. Workers can acquire specialised certifications and training that enhances their expertise, leading to higher wages and supervisory roles and professional advancement. Whether planning and executing a successful lift or being involved in the development and production of a new product, there is a lot to be engaged and excited by, and I hope that more young people consider a career in the lifting industry to ensure demand can be fulfilled and that safety can be assured.
What are your expectations for the industry going forward? Any trends or challenges that you foresee?
Well almost certainly growth, which can of course bring its own challenges, but we expect to see double digit growth for the foreseeable future. Also, enhancement of skills and professionalism across the globe; new products to provide greater levels of automation and technological advancement that in turn should increase operational efficiency and safety; an increase in the use of green technologies to power lifting equipment and provide more environmentally friendly lifting solutions; and most likely greater competition too.
I do hear that recruitment is currently an issue for many companies providing services in lifting operations, so I hope the industry is able to attract new talent and certainly advancements in technology as well as opportunities for professional development and good levels of pay will be key to attracting the new talent.
I believe a big challenge will be safety in lifting operations as technological development will require a new skillset to master automation. Also, if experienced people are not in good supply, there is the risk for accidents to happen as demand for lifting operations against a backdrop of growth in infrastructure projects around the world outstrips the supply of qualified people.
Very topical right now is global economic fluctuations and supply chain disruptions that could impact the industry, affecting the availability of components and the cost of equipment. We saw this after Covid and now for different reasons, including wars and tariffs, further disruption may ensue. Companies will need to adapt by diversifying supply sources and optimising their inventory management. Reid have been very successful in this regard and as part of our ESG strategy have done a lot to onshore manufacturing and utilise a circular economy in Wales and the UK.
Are there any projects or initiatives that your company is working on that you’re excited about?
As a manufacturer, product innovation and market segment development are key for our growth. Although I can’t share too much of the details, we are very excited about the possibility of expanding our Porta Gantry and Porta Gantry Rapide product portfolio to enable higher capacity lifts and we are also working to expand our personnel safety products portfolio this year, where we have seen tremendous success in the past two years, with growth of 70% and 40% in revenues respectively. Personnel safety products now account for 20% of Reid’s global business.
We have recently launched a new material lift range, which is gaining traction and we are very excited to see how that product category develops for us globally. We also recently acquired our largest French distributor, so Reid now has a footprint in Europe, which is very exciting, and we will be working closely with our new French colleagues to better support customers and grow our business there.
Overall, though, I am mostly excited for our team to be involved in all the great developments going on in the business and for our customers and the opportunities they will create to serve the needs of their customers with lifting challenges to overcome.
