Page 6 - Glossop Caravans - Celebrates 40 Successful Years
P. 6
Page 6 Glossop Caravans 40th Anniversary
Loyalty and laughter - the key to long service
Glossop Caravans' longest Hadfield, started working After serving six years as aftercare for our
-serving employee Mike for Glossop Caravans in an apprentice, Mike customers, plus cutting-
Pinder learned a hard but 1978, when he was still a became foreman of the edge facilities for our
valuable lesson the day he pupil at St. Philip Howard workshop for seven years, staff."
borrowed a saw from one School, Glossop. then spent nine years as
of his bosses' much- aftercare sales manager In 2004 the result was
treasured tool box and "I washed caravans and before taking on his impressive - a 18-bay
forgot to put it back. generally helped out at current role. workshop staffed by 28
weekends," recalled Mike. fully-trained and
"I was an apprentice at "The company was very "During that time the experienced professionals
the time, and in those small then, with a company really expanded, who use up-to-date
days tradesmen's tool workforce of about ten and by 2002 the equipment and the finest
boxes were sacrosanct - and about 15 second- workshop was struggling products to keep
they never loaned hand caravans. It for space on the main customers' caravans and
anything to anyone else," occupied motorhomes in top-class
recalled Mike (50), now a tiny Brookfield condition.
manager of the site, with site," he
company's state-of-the- a static said. "Joint So how has the company
art Service Centre at caravan managing changed and developed
Woolley Bridge, Glossop. as an directors over the past four
office Stan and decades? "In some ways
"Derek Ackley, who still and a Brian Laing it's like chalk and cheese,
lives in Hadfield, was the single garage as a and I things are so different
foreman of the company's workshop - very different discussed the situation now from when I started,"
workshop at the time, and to the way things are and agreed the most said Mike. "But it's still
I 'borrowed' a saw from today." important thing was to very much a family
his assistant's tool box find a new site in the local business, and Stan and
one day when he went to When he left school in area, where we could Brian protect those
lunch. I forgot to put it 1981 at the age of 16, accommodate a larger, values. There's a very
back and it went missing. Mike started work full- purpose-built Service friendly atmosphere here,
time in the workshop at Centre - and Woolley both within the workforce
"I was dreading what Glossop Caravans, under Bridge was an ideal and with customers.
would happen when he the tutelage of Derek location, just minutes
noticed, but to my Ackley and Tony from our main base." "Stan and Brian's ethos is
surprise all he said was Greenwood, and worked to give people good value
'Don't worry about it with them for around ten "We were in a very for money and a great
Mike' - quickly followed years, absorbing fortunate position, experience of both our
by 'How do you want to everything he could about because we weren't sales and aftercare
pay for the replacement?' the technical side of the having to adapt an service, so they will keep
business. existing building, we were coming back to us.
"It was an expensive saw starting from scratch," he
and cost me two weeks' "I was very fortunate to added. "Because we had a "That's really important in
wages, so as you can work with them, and clean sheet, we could building and maintaining
imagine I never did learned an awful lot from design the place as we good relationships with
anything like that again!" both men," he added. wanted it, to offer the both customers and
best possible service and manufacturers.”
Mike, who lives in
Loyalty and laughter - the key to long service
Glossop Caravans' longest Hadfield, started working After serving six years as aftercare for our
-serving employee Mike for Glossop Caravans in an apprentice, Mike customers, plus cutting-
Pinder learned a hard but 1978, when he was still a became foreman of the edge facilities for our
valuable lesson the day he pupil at St. Philip Howard workshop for seven years, staff."
borrowed a saw from one School, Glossop. then spent nine years as
of his bosses' much- aftercare sales manager In 2004 the result was
treasured tool box and "I washed caravans and before taking on his impressive - a 18-bay
forgot to put it back. generally helped out at current role. workshop staffed by 28
weekends," recalled Mike. fully-trained and
"I was an apprentice at "The company was very "During that time the experienced professionals
the time, and in those small then, with a company really expanded, who use up-to-date
days tradesmen's tool workforce of about ten and by 2002 the equipment and the finest
boxes were sacrosanct - and about 15 second- workshop was struggling products to keep
they never loaned hand caravans. It for space on the main customers' caravans and
anything to anyone else," occupied motorhomes in top-class
recalled Mike (50), now a tiny Brookfield condition.
manager of the site, with site," he
company's state-of-the- a static said. "Joint So how has the company
art Service Centre at caravan managing changed and developed
Woolley Bridge, Glossop. as an directors over the past four
office Stan and decades? "In some ways
"Derek Ackley, who still and a Brian Laing it's like chalk and cheese,
lives in Hadfield, was the single garage as a and I things are so different
foreman of the company's workshop - very different discussed the situation now from when I started,"
workshop at the time, and to the way things are and agreed the most said Mike. "But it's still
I 'borrowed' a saw from today." important thing was to very much a family
his assistant's tool box find a new site in the local business, and Stan and
one day when he went to When he left school in area, where we could Brian protect those
lunch. I forgot to put it 1981 at the age of 16, accommodate a larger, values. There's a very
back and it went missing. Mike started work full- purpose-built Service friendly atmosphere here,
time in the workshop at Centre - and Woolley both within the workforce
"I was dreading what Glossop Caravans, under Bridge was an ideal and with customers.
would happen when he the tutelage of Derek location, just minutes
noticed, but to my Ackley and Tony from our main base." "Stan and Brian's ethos is
surprise all he said was Greenwood, and worked to give people good value
'Don't worry about it with them for around ten "We were in a very for money and a great
Mike' - quickly followed years, absorbing fortunate position, experience of both our
by 'How do you want to everything he could about because we weren't sales and aftercare
pay for the replacement?' the technical side of the having to adapt an service, so they will keep
business. existing building, we were coming back to us.
"It was an expensive saw starting from scratch," he
and cost me two weeks' "I was very fortunate to added. "Because we had a "That's really important in
wages, so as you can work with them, and clean sheet, we could building and maintaining
imagine I never did learned an awful lot from design the place as we good relationships with
anything like that again!" both men," he added. wanted it, to offer the both customers and
best possible service and manufacturers.”
Mike, who lives in
