Pirtek In The Pipeline Q1 2018

THE PIRTEK MAGAZINE JANUARY 2018

IN THE PIPELINE INSIDE THIS ISSUE...

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THESE GREAT SEASONAL SPECIAL OFFERS ARE VALID FROM:

1ST JANUARY 2018 - 31ST MARCH 2018

THESE GREAT SEASONAL SPECIAL OFFERS ARE VALID FROM:

1ST JANUARY 2018 - 31ST MARCH 2018

PIR-J9130/80 80 PCS ASSORTED IMPERIAL GREASE NIPPLE BOX £16.69 / € 18.94 PIR-J9131/80 80 PCS ASSORTED METRIC GREASE NIPPLE BOX £16.69 / € 18.94

PIR-SWHR-30-38MB222K H/REEL + 3/8” 2 WIRE JET WASH C/W M22 30M MANUAL £225.99 / € 256.36

PIR-SWHR-15-38SB122K H/REEL + 3/8” 1 WIRE JET WASH C/W M22 15M RETRACTABLE £314.15 / € 356.38

PIR-OC-KIT-MS O-CLIP KIT MILD STEEL 9-11-22-25 £41.87 / € 47.49 PIR-HC-KIT-MS HOSE CLAMP KIT MS 8-12MM -25-40MM £20.0 / € 22.70

PIR-2025-3779 FLEXIDRIVER £8.94 / € 10.15

PIR-OP1 O’ CLIP PINCER £7.25 / € 8.23

PIR-YLH-2 YELLOW LAYFLAT HOSE 100M COIL 2” BORE £106.28 / € 120.57 PIR-YLH-3 (AS ABOVE) 100M COIL 3” BORE £159.60 / € 181.05 PIR-YLH-4 (AS ABOVE) 100M COIL 4” BORE £269.00 / € 305.16

PIR-LLC2 LEVER LOCK SET COMPLETE 2” £10.28 / € 11.66 PIR-LLC3312 LEVER LOCK SET COMPLETE 3 1/2” £17.90 / € 20.31 PIR-LLC4 LEVER LOCK SET COMPLETE 4” £37.03 / € 42.01

PIR-TCSHT2 TIN CAN STRAINER HOSE TAIL 2” £11.04 / € 12.52 PIR-TCSHT3 TIN CAN STRAINER HOSE TAIL 3” £17.83 / € 20.22 PIR-TCSHT4 TIN CAN STRAINER HOSE TAIL 4” £20.69 / € 23.47

PIR-LFH2-100 52MM ID LAYFLAT HOSE X 100M BLUE £104.10 / € 118.09

PIR-1805 T3.1805 - 2500PSI 100 DEGREE C 05 INDUSTRIAL TURBO 1/4 F £20.65 / € 23.42 PIR-2605 T3.2605 3600 PSI 100 DEGREE C 05 HD TURBO NOZZLE 1/4F £24.09 / € 27.32

PIR-LFH3-100 78MM ID (AS ABOVE) £143.16 / € 162.40 PIR-LFH4-100 104MM ID (AS ABOVE) £251.49 / € 285.29

OTHER SIZES AVAILABLE FOR STRAINERS, LAYFLAT AND BAUER COUPLINGS

Pirtek UK – 30 years young

With a new year, comes new challenges and this year Pirtek celebrates 30 years business in the UK, as can be seen on pages six and seven.

Pirtek continues to put customer service and professional workmanship at the heart of what it does but, as can be seen in this edition of In the Pipeline, franchises are extending the scope of their work. Pirtek Tyne & Wear has been pushing the boundaries, developing the Total Hydraulic Management system. This encompasses the maintenance and servicing and management of entire hydraulic systems, helping customers to schedule maintenance, reduce downtime and avoid dangerous and potentially

environmentally hazardous failures. One of the Tyne and Wear franchise’s biggest accounts is with Banks Mining and an interview detailing their relationship can be found on page eight. The advantages of multiple franchises are explored in our interview with Jason Woods, who is the franchise holder of Kidderminster,

‘Pirtek nurtures its staff, making them the best’

Worcester, Gloucester and now Newport and Swansea. He makes the case that owning adjoining franchises simplifies cooperation across borders and that having a larger fleet reduces the risk posed by staff becoming unavailable. See page 20. There is a feature on Burton upon Trent’s relationship with Golding Skip Hire on page 16. The company has a waste reprocessing facility at its site, with heavy duty machinery to shunt the materials around. The franchise has been working with Golding for over 10 years so is a great example of how first rate customer service forges long term business relationships.

Finally, we have a few shorter features looking at how Pirtek nurtures its staff, making them the best and motivating them to stay.

I would like to wish you a happy and prosperous new year and look forward to Pirtek franchises getting repeat business from satisfied customers as well as gaining new business by selling the virtues of the brand.

Chris Stuckey Managing director C

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Contents

Burton upon Trent Golding Skip Hire Contract

Multiples A Matter of Growth

Tyne & Wear Total Hydraulic Management

Cleveland The King of Customer Service

Reading Coming home to Pirtek

Derby An Ambition to Learn

In the Pipeline magazine is produced and designed by Chambers Media Ltd Website: www.chambers.media Email: info@chambers.media

Ben Chambers Managing director ben@chambers.media 01903 899 942

Nicki Chambers Designer nic@chambers.media 01903 899 832

Toby Wilsdon Editor toby@chambers.media 01903 899 940

Pirtek Racing Title Challenge

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Hoses are just one part of any hydraulic system and it makes sense for an operator to use the same company to service the entire setup. Streamlining business operations is efficient in itself, but more importantly, integrating hose servicing with the management and maintenance of the whole hydraulic system means all the knowledge and data is held in one place and accessible to expert engineers for review. Driving Forces The roots of Total Hydraulic Management lie in when Pirtek Tyne and Wear needed to expand its service offering. “For a business like us, running 10 hose vans, to build up more business when you’re already big player in a market, is quite difficult. Hydraulics opens up a totally new avenue for us,” Kevin explains.

Pirtek Tyne and Wear is expanding its business, its Total Hydraulic Management extends Pirtek’s existing Total Hose Management model, which involves labelling, cataloguing and systematically servicing hydraulic hoses, resulting in fewer accidents and less downtime. On large machinery and big contracts this investment saves money in the longer run for Pirtek customers. Tyne & Wear – Total Hydraulic Management

“Our core business has always been on-site replacement of hydraulic hoses – which is only a small component of hydraulics systems. “A couple of years ago, Brian Abraham, our sales manager asked if we could start going into hydraulics. To be involved in hydraulics you have to have a lot more training, a lot more industry knowledge; in short – it’s not as simple as hoses.

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‘Everything coming off site is tracked and traceable’

“I said to Brian ‘Go out, have a look around, see what’s there, see what we could make of this,’ knowing that in the background we had the Total Hose Management system.” Total Hose Management provided the conceptual basis for the systematic maintenance of hydraulic systems and was something that Pirtek Tyne and Wear had been doing for local family-run mining company, Banks Mining for around three years. Moving into hydraulics has enabled Pirtek Tyne and Wear to pick up further business.

Kevin says, “Brian went out and spoke to several customers and we gained several accounts quite quickly. Some customers had issues with hydraulics systems. We’ve got a couple of guys working for us who are really good on the hydraulics, so we went in, diagnosed the fault, repaired it and as a result picked up the hose work. “Most of the work that we weren’t getting is now coming our way because we’re getting involved in the hydraulic sector.” Data Like Total Hose Management, Total Hydraulic Management is fundamentally a data-based system, in the latter case,

coordinated by a piece of software called Total Asset Management. Kevin expects that all Pirtek engineers will have access to this programme within 12 months. Parts and maintenance are catalogued and the information made available to customers and engineers, allowing components’ end-of-life to be managed in an orderly manner, preventing accidents, reducing downtime and eliminating the environmental damage caused by hydraulic oil leakages. “We attach a tag to a piece of equipment, which could be traceable by RFID (Radio Frequency Identification), barcodes or a unique asset identification number. Then we enter it into the system, which has a customer portal, allowing them to go in and look at the reports we do. “This builds up a massive amount of data that a lot of companies simply do not have access to. We can enter into service contracts a commitment to look after the hydraulic systems, but also to give reports so companies can download and look at the performance of each piece of equipment within their operations. “We’ve spoken to several and none of them had a clue. It’s a massive opportunity.”

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Taking a holistic approach to managing hydraulic systems has further benefits in diagnosing and rectifying faults. “If a hose has been replaced three times in 12 months, it’s obviously not the hose that’s failing,” Kevin says, “there’s something wrong elsewhere. “For a lot of companies, if the hose fails, they get another one, the hose fails, they get another one and so on. The root cause is never addressed.” One of the diagnostic tools utilised in Total Hydraulic Management is the oil contamination report.

“We take a sample of oil and do a report within 24 hours, giving a breakdown of every single contaminant in the oil – chrome, other metals, everything. Then you have an indication of what is causing the problem. “You can only do that if you do regular maintenance – preventative maintenance. That’s Total Hydraulic Management.” Software “Once we get our data management combined into a bespoke software system, we will be able to pull down the asset number of any machine and tell the customer how many times the machine has failed because of a hydraulic fault,” Kevin says.

“In the back of the FSM (Field Service Management) software will be the asset management system. Every hose we then supply will be logged on the software, which the customer will have a portal to and all existing Total Hose Management data will be exported to the new software so we will have that historical record to refer to. “We will be doing something that nobody else does. They may do it on elements such as engines, gearboxes or transmission, which cost hundreds of thousands of pounds. Hoses are minuscule in comparison, but if we can start collecting the data, people will begin to appreciate the knock-on effects in terms of time, labour, oil, environmental costs, and so on.”

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Trust rewarded Explaining the regular maintenance process, Robbie continues, “Prior to a planned service event we produce and share with Pirtek an asset inspection schedule. This allows the hose engineer to inspect the hoses on the relevant assets and produce a report with recommendations to replace or address potential hose related issues. I don’t think we have ever turned round to them and said, ‘We’re not going to change those hoses based on your recommendation,’ because we see these guys as the experts. Additionally, Pirtek have rerouted existing hoses to prevent further rubbing and chaffing, thus increasing the life of the hose in current operation. This clearly demonstrates added value beyond being just a hose supplier. “It’s money well spent – we’ve been tracking the effectiveness of that strategy and our figures confirm that it works.” In January 2016, 34 per cent of maintenance jobs were unplanned or emergency intervention, with only 66 per cent performed as part of a planned and scheduled event. During 2017, this ratio significantly improved, averaging 82 per cent planned and 18 per cent unplanned across the year. Monthly unplanned figures were frequently in single figures, going as low as five per cent in February of that year and six per cent in September 2017. “Our department works to a target to provide 98 per cent availability on the prime movers fleet, which is challenging but achievable through our maintenance strategy and continuous improvement philosophy,” says Robbie.

“If we had a hose burst, we would have to call Pirtek out, therefore we suffer a delay in production and associated cost. We’d have an asset stood idle and we’d be introducing contamination into the system and risk subsequent expensive premature component failures. “We spend a lot of money on lubricants, so we’re tracking that cost against spend on hydraulic hoses and we do see a correlation. By investing in hoses you fundamentally reduce your spending on hydraulic oil as well.” Predictability is a key attraction of Total Hydraulic Management. “We don’t like to live in an unplanned, unpredictable world,” says Robbie. “We target ourselves in line with world class maintenance standards at 80 per cent of maintenance planned. Planned servicing, brake testing, component replacement, preservice inspection. On average 80 per cent of every activity performed on an asset is planned and controlled. Once you move into a world of being unplanned your cost escalates. “With Total Hydraulic Management, we can take the asset down when it’s convenient to the business. There is a real benefit to that.”

Banks Mining The Tyne and Wear franchise has been doing Total Hose Management for north- east mining company, Banks Mining (www.banksgroup.co.uk/mining) for around three years. Robbie Bentham, plant director at Banks Mining (below) sees it as an investment. “From where we were previously, reacting to breakdowns, we analysed the nature of the breakdowns and concluded we needed to start addressing hoses on a more proactive basis. “We see the value in improving the availability and reducing the downtime of the assets, particularly on the large rigid trucks and the prime movers, because if one of those assets is down then production comes to a grinding halt – that has a huge impact on production efficiency.

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‘We recognise the environmental impact if a hose bursts so we work to avoid that’

Kevin backs this up, saying, “The number of opportunities for a machine to stop working is enormous so to achieve that percentage is phenomenal.” All this data goes a long way in selling the benefits of proactive maintenance. It was Robbie Bentham who first saw the benefits at Banks Mining, but initially he had a point to prove. Kevin says, “You have to persuade the maintenance team that you need to spend money on a hose that on the face of it looks ok.” Andy Palmer, Banks Mining plant maintenance supervisor (left), was initially one such sceptic. Andy says, “At first I thought it would not save much time or money. But the proof of the pudding has been in the eating; it has helped us operate more safely, responsibly and efficiently – which is

what Banks is all about. It also fits very much into our development with care approach, whereby all we do is done with care for our team mates, subcontractors; neighbours and the environment.”

reports proving the concepts. “You can talk about it until you’re blue in the face but unless you’ve got something tangible to show, it’s all just words.” Now Banks Mining engineers can see the proof in the data. Proactive maintenance makes their life easier. Robbie agrees, “Through analysis of the fleet we identified a problematic asset and decided to perform a ‘controlled take down’ by aligning planned and backlog work with addressing areas in need of attention. This resulted in a major rebuild on a Caterpillar 785 dump truck with Pirtek supporting the initiative by replacing all the hoses across the entire truck. This concept, with additional support from Pirtek, has proven successful with mechanical availability and mean time between stoppages now back to an acceptable level. Obviously, this type of event is costly but it’s demonstrably worth it.”

Kevin is happy to say that Pirtek has won over the doubters, primarily due to its

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On site According to Kevin, Pirtek is fully equipped and has a permanent staff presence at Banks’ Shotton mine. “We have what is equivalent to one of our depots, allowing us to work within the 0.2mm standard and we’ve got about £30,000 of stock on site. “We upped the stock on the real fast moving stuff. We carry 20 metre coils of hoses of every size at Banks’ site, so we should never be caught out unless there are multiple unplanned jobs in one day. The object of the system is obviously to reduce these – something we’ve been very successful in doing.” With Pirtek’s engineers permanently stationed at the Shotton mine, the working relationship is very close, says Robbie. “Pirtek’s guy on site is considered a member of Banks’ team. We don’t treat him any differently. He’s one of the guys.”

Environment “On components worth hundreds of thousands of pounds, if you don’t change the hydraulic hose, that hose could burst and then run the machine dry,” says Robbie. “On something like a 500 tonne RH200 excavator, you could lose thousands of litres of oil if a hose fails.” This ties in with Banks’ commitment to the environment,as Robbie goes on to explain. “We recognise the impact on the environment if a hose bursts so we work proactively to avoid that. We have a very clear, auditable route for hose disposals – any hose that comes off gets into a waste management system run by Pirtek. Everything coming off site is tracked and traceable.” Giving Pirtek’s point of view, Kevin says, “We are registered with the Environment Agency for disposal. We dispose of all

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of Banks Mining’s hoses and give them the certification so that they can prove that they’re following the environmental guidelines they should be.” Increased efficiency also reduces transport related emissions. “With monthly unplanned maintenance down from around 80 per cent of jobs to being in single figures, stock control is rationalised and this has a massive environmental impact,” says Robbie. As for the final impact of mining on the local environment, Banks Mining is second to none its reclamation schemes, Kevin says. “The way it leaves the site is totally different from the companies of old. Banks digs a mine and supports local communities with jobs and when it fills in the hole, it leaves something such as a wildlife park, walks, upgraded roads, etc. The company is passionate about how it leaves the site.” In a marketplace that Pirtek already dominates leaving fewer opportunities for expansion, Total Hydraulic Management offers franchises the chance to increase their range of activities. Having a more comprehensive knowledge of

September 2017 – Maintenance Ratio

Unplanned 6% Planned 94%

a customer’s hydraulic systems means the client has a further incentive to stick with Pirtek, particularly given the demonstrable results achieved by planned maintenance. Pirtek’s professionalism gives customers the confidence to delegate decisions about replacement of components and this faith has been seen both at management and maintenance team level. A further advantage is the safer and more efficient management of components, which results in fewer hydraulic spillages, providing both environmental and economic benefits. A broader skill set for Pirtek’s engineers may also be seen as an incentive for

them to continue developing their careers at the company.

Kevin concurs, “It’s all about verifiable data that demonstrates to management that it’s worth the investment and brings those on the shop floor on board. And there’s not many companies that can give you that data.” In a data driven age, Total Hydraulic Management is the way forward and this is something that Pirtek Tyne and Wear and their customer Banks Mining are convinced of. As Robbie says, “We make decisions based on data not emotion. Sometimes you’ve got to produce some data to get past the emotion.”

UK 0800 38 24 38 ROI 1800 74 78 35 www.pirtek.eu

Burton upon Trent –

Golding Skip Hire contract

In any business, getting back up and running quickly after a breakdown is important to maintaining the workflow. In Golding Skip Hire’s trade, with a continuous flow of waste being deposited on their Burton upon Trent site, it is crucial. Golding is a long term customer of Pirtek’s Burton franchise, having worked with them for more than a decade. The firm provides everything from two

some household waste, which could be anything from someone having a garage clear-out to having a new bathroom fitted.” Detailing the process of reclamation and preparation for recycling, he says, “The drivers tip out the skips on site, where the lads take out the larger fractions – big pieces of wood, metal and so on. put through a trommel screen, which separates them according to size, ready for further sorting. From there, they travel on a conveyor through a picking station, where the lads sort different recyclables and drop them into various bins to be sent off for processing.” The company has a variety of machines that Pirtek may be called upon to service, says Pete. “Pirtek could be called upon “The smaller pieces are then

at any time to change a hose on a JCB, a CAT digger or anything on our trucks, grabber or crusher. “They get a call, turn up quickly and find out what we’re asking them to do. They come when they say they’re going to and get on with the job.” The skip hire company operates on the basis that in normal circumstances it has sufficient backup if a machine should fail. It is able to do this because it is safe in the knowledge that should there be issues with multiple machines, Pirtek will be available to repair hydraulics at short notice.

yard mini skips through to the 40 yard roll-on- roll-off variety and among its customers, Golding counts the Pirtek Burton

‘The fact that Pirtek turn up when they say they will helps us keep the yard running smoothly’

franchise, at times when it requires waste management services. As well as providing empty skips for hire, Golding processes the waste on return to its Burton site, just around the corner from Pirtek’s own depot. Pete Williams, manager at Golding (above right) describes what happens when the skips return. “A lot of it’s industrial, construction or demolition waste from building sites. There’s also

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“Mainly we’ve got two machines to do any one job,” says Pete. “But if one is being serviced when a hose goes on the other, the fact that Pirtek can turn up in 15 minutes rather than three hours means that we can keep the yard running. “If we were dealing with somebody who took three hours to turn up, we’d be struggling to process the waste. We’d have to accept that a backlog may form and then we’d be playing catchup,” says Pete.

It is clear that Pirtek’s one hour ETA commitment is critical to keeping Golding Skip Hire’s operation running smoothly and therefore, to the company’s ability to keep its commitment to its own customers.

He describes a strong working relationship with the waste management company, developed over the 12 years he has worked for Pirtek. As such, Golding was one of the first accounts Adam got to know. “We’ve been working with them for 12 years, pretty much solid and have never had any issues. They’re also a good supplier to Pirtek Burton. They’re a valued customer and we always try do our best by them.”

“A quick response time is what we need, and that’s what we get,” says Pete.

Adam Holloway is the centre manager at Pirtek Burton upon Trent, responsible for the smooth operation of the franchise that services Golding Skip Hire.

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The account provides a steady stream of work for Pirtek Burton upon Trent, Adam says. “We work with them four or five times a month on average. We could be out there every day for a week or more evenly spread out.” Golding’s combination of transportation vehicles and on site heavy equipment provides variety. “It’s a good, stable customer and it keeps us busy with a large range of jobs,” Adam says.

Starting with Pirtek Burton 12 years ago aged 19, Adam’s career has mirrored the Golding account. “Ben Golding, who is now managing director of the firm, was driving the wagons when I first started – our careers have run in parallel.” When he began his Pirtek journey, Adam was a depot assistant, a role he describes as “the mop and bucket – chasing order

numbers, serving the customer, making the tea, trying to take the pressure off the centre manager.” “Mop and bucket” should be seen as an opportunity to demonstrate potential, however, and Adam swiftly made good. “Within a couple of years I was a manager at Burton and did that for about three or four years and then the opportunity arose to go to Coventry with John [Guest]. “I ran Coventry for around three years and went on the vans there for about a year. After that I came back to Burton, doing a sales job for a while before getting back in the office as centre manager.” This is undoubtably a circuitous career path, but Adam can clearly see the value in his experience.

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‘A quick response time is what we need, and that is what we get’

“I’ve done it back to front really. A lot of people go out on the vans and then once they’ve got the experience in the field, they try and work their way into the depot if the opportunity arises. But I did it the other way round, I’ve got experience of both ways round now so I know what it’s like if you’re having trouble on the site. I can put myself in their shoes and think ‘What would I have done?’” That’s not to say his particular career path hasn’t presented problems, however. “I was only about 19 first time round as a manager and when you’ve got a lot of highly experienced 40 to 50-year-old engineers it can be hard to get your point across.”

Adam is committed to the franchise and has great confidence in the people he manages. “I’ve always worked for John,” he says, “and wherever he’s asked me to go and whatever he’s asked me to do, I’ve done. “We’ve got a good cross section on the team, including a new lad who’s settling in well. They’ve all got their strengths in different areas and it’s one of the best teams I’ve worked with.”

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sales duties for about 18 months before moving to Pirtek Kidderminster and Wolverhampton in a purely sales role. After only six months, the Pirtek Kidderminster franchise came up and Jason jumped at the opportunity to become a franchisee. He maintained being an active participant in the day- to-day work of the centre as well as its administration. “I believe in being hands on,” he says. However, 18 months later, in 2003 Jason injured his back, at which point he decided on a change of direction with his Pirtek career. “I sold Kidderminster and went to work for Pirtek UK for two and a half years as a troubleshooter going into any centre needing help, dealing with centres that were changing hands – Exeter, Galway, Inverness, Cambridge Poole, Preston.” Always looking for the next opportunity, when the Worcester franchise became available in 2005, Jason got in touch. Worcester was a satellite of the Gloucester centre and Jason says he knew the owner well. “I approached him, thinking maybe it was time to get in the fold. We brokered talks and I took it over in June 2006.” “It was quite an interesting time because Worcester was barely doing double figures, but I knew the area and knew we could make it work. It was a brave move at the time, but I’ve never looked back.” The first opportunity to expand fell into Jason’s lap in 2007. “I knew the then licensee at Kidderminster wanted to This was the real beginning of Jason’s journey as a multiple franchisee.

Multiples - A matter of growth

Having started as an MSST at Pirtek Birmingham in 1997, Jason Woods (above and below with Pirtek Kidderminster centre manager Paul Shelley) has followed a roundabout route to being Pirtek UK’s largest multiple franchisee. Although he has been with Pirtek continuously since that time, he has worked for and owned a number of different franchises in various roles before ultimately uniting five of them under a single banner.

After working on the vans for two years at Birmingham, Roger Wynne the former franchisee invited Jason to become a salesperson for the centre, which he did for about a year. “I took that on and gave it a go. Roger obviously saw something in me,” Jason says. Jason didn’t let the grass grow under his feet, however. When the position of centre manager came up at the franchise he took the challenge on top of his

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move on, which is quite ironic really because I sold it to him, so I approached him and said, ‘Do you want to sell up?’ He said he did, so we struck a deal.” The benefits were immediately apparent. “Straight away our service levels went up because there were no border issues regarding passing jobs between franchises. I thought, there’s some mileage in this.” Another opportunity for Jason to seize was presented the following year when a local competitor shut up shop. Jason swept up its remaining customers and saw his business go up two or threefold. Jason continued as the owner of a dual franchise for around four years before the owner of Gloucester, off whom he’d bought the Worcester business, decided to sell the second of his Pirtek centres. “That was a big step for us taking on a three van centre (it now has four) and covering a vast area,” Jason says.

The practicalities of managing and staying in touch with all his centres was challenging. The first two years were difficult. Where I was split between two centres, now I was split between three, which has taught me a lot.” It took a couple of years to really get on top of things, Jason says, “but service levels go up because of cooperation and not having any of the border issues. Now they’ve had their best year, probably ever.” Since that time, Jason has increased the number of vans on the franchises, which cover a vast area extending into Wales. “I made my best engineer there – Alan Simpkins – centre manager when the old manager left. “He’s been with Pirtek for 14 years and we had a frank discussion about his strengths and weaknesses before I appointed him. He’s learned about stock control and managing people fast.”

Stock control is critical but easily overlooked, says Jason. “Stock can get in a bit of a mess but Alan’s excellent with stock control. He also has especially good relationships with his customers due to being on the vans locally for so long. He’s probably a good reason why the centre does so well.” With Jason proving the viability of running three franchises alongside each other, he was contacted to ask whether he would be interested in taking on South Wales. His initial reaction was that this was a step too far. Wales was another country, after all, but he heard them out. The Newport and Swansea franchises were owned by a third party, which meant the potential for divided loyalties. “I knew that the previous setup should be improved, but I had an in depth look at the figures and prospects and came back to Pirtek UK and said yes.”

Having expanded to such a degree, Jason says he runs the South Wales franchises

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in a slightly different way from the other three.

“With my initial three centres I lead from the front as I know all my top accounts and I’m quite friendly with everybody. “The Welsh centres are slightly different. I’m standing at the back pushing forward. It’s been a learning curve for me, but it’s only been two or three weeks and all the centres bolt together perfectly.”

Having grown a Pirtek empire of five centres and 20 vans, Jason

has come a long way. “Before the credit crunch, Pirtek weren’t keen on multi franchises, they were keen on getting new blood in,” he says. “Since then they’ve changed their outlook. It’s all about service.

At the end of the day, it’s a piece of rubber and the fittings – you can get that from anywhere. How we differentiate

ourselves is service – response time, quality of workmanship and professionalism.

“Once you get the multi-centres, service levels go up. What happens then? You grow. When I saw that with Kidderminster, I thought this is definitely the way to go.” Having the right staff in place is paramount, Jason believes. He turns to his favourite analogy, that of a football team. “You can have the best players in the world but if your manager’s no good, they’re not going to play. “With each expansion, I’ve made sure they’re self- sufficient to a degree. I’ve got three very good managers and I know I could walk away for two or three weeks and I’d still have three centres when I returned.” Jason is well aware of the challenge,

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but he is optimistic. “Could I do that with Wales right now? Probably not. Will I be able to in the future? Yes.” Growth has forced a change on Jason. “People have called me a control freak in the past but every time we expand I have to become less of one. Currently, I look at all my works orders going out and all the invoices. Going into Wales, I can’t do that. I’ve had to trust people and delegate. “I used to get calls from managers every five minutes, so I sat them all down and said, ‘You can make the decision, you knew the answer before you rang, you only want me to reassure you. I trust you but if it’s wrong, we’ll work our way round it.’ That’s allowed me to not work until 10 o’clock at night.” Taking a step back has allowed Jason to spend more time on his hobbies. As well as an interest in classic cars such as his rebuilt 1980s Opel Manta, of which there are only 200 left on the road, Jason is a drummer in a West Midlands death metal band, as well as being a private

in the second battalion of the Royal Warwickshire Regiment reenactment group. He is passionate that the soldiers of his region should not be forgotten among the higher profile second world war regiments. His uniform and kit, including deactivated rifles, adorn his office, alongside 1980s marketing material for his sports car and posters for gigs he played with his band, Absolution. He describes their music as “quite melodic for death metal”. Having left the band before taking up his Pirtek career, he was reunited with them in 2016 and at the time of press they are preparing to record an album in February. Having recently taken on the South Wales franchises, Jason is clear about the benefits. “In the past, smaller centres with two or three vans have struggled. If they lost one guy, that could be a third of their turnover. If we lose one guy, with 20 vans it has less of an impact. Generally, expansion’s a no brainer.

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Cleveland - The King of customer service

Excellence in customer service is the Pirtek way. Delivering high quality workmanship on time is how Pirtek franchises have grown, holding on to existing customers and gaining new ones. In September 2017, Pirtek Cleveland was called upon to supply an existing customer, Ainscough Cranes, with a

20m hose reel with automatic trigger and manual rewind for a bowser unit. These mobile fuel tanks carry between 1000 and 2000 litres of diesel and keep Ainscough’s cranes fuelled up on site. More than happy with the service Pirtek supplied, Ainscough were keen to order a further 22 sets in October. At time of press, Pirtek Cleveland has supplied 18

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retiring and we asked him what he thought about selling us the business.

Working at sea, Harry had a number of duties. “It was a mix of specialist stuff – cleaning down in the engine room, greasing the compressors, hydraulics, steering, diesel engines, boilers, a bit of everything.” After leaving the Navy, Harry worked for a fibreglass company, initially making parts with a bucket and brush and later injection moulding. During his time at the firm he progressed from the shop floor to being production manager.

“He was happy to do this and five years down the line, we’re still here.”

Harry has had an interesting career, mostly in engineering related industries. He joined the Royal Navy, straight out of school in the 1980s. He served as a mechanic on HMS Ark Royal and HMS Liverpool for seven years, a highlight of which was heading the flotilla for the 1988 Australian bicentennial in Sydney Harbour.

units, with five remaining to be delivered in late January.

Owner of Pirtek Cleveland, Harry Wood, says a local competitor had been aggressively bidding for the same contract but his franchise was able to beat them by virtue of having an excellent relationship with Ainscough Cranes, based on their proven workmanship and service. “We keep good relationships with the customer,” Harry says. “When they call, we’re straight round there doing the business.” “We got the job because we’re lovely people,” says Harry. That would obviously not have been enough on its own, however. Pirtek Cleveland’s relationship with Ainscough Cranes looks set to continue, thanks to the foundation of solid workmanship and excellent customer relations. Family concern The Wood family have been franchisees at Pirtek Cleveland for five years. Harry and sons Jamie and Rikki worked at the centre for a number of years before Harry and his wife Linda bought the license in 2013. “I was an MSST for the previous owner for nine years,” says Harry. “He was

‘When they call, we’re straight round doing the business’

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“Pirtek used to come in, doing hoses for us. I’d never heard of them but I asked one of the engineers ‘Are there any jobs going at your place?’ He said someone was leaving so I put my CV in and got the job. That was in 2004.” There are now five members of the Wood family working at Pirtek Cleveland – Harry, his wife Linda, sons Jamie and Rikki and now his nephew Jonathan, who has recently started at the centre. Rikki says, “Working with family has its ups and downs but we know we are all on the same team and we have to provide the best possible service.” He clearly has self-belief, saying he could imagine being a franchisee one day. “I look after the centre when my dad is away and I know he can rely on me.” One thing is obvious when visiting the Pirtek Cleveland depot – Harry’s love of Elvis. He says he grew up listening to The King before eventually getting married at Graceland. Just inside the centre is a shrine dedicated to Elvis, including images, LPs, other memorabilia and at its heart a shirt signed by the self-styled Clothier to the King, Bernard Lansky, who once said “I put Elvis in his first suit, and I put him in his last.” Asked about his favourite Elvis track, Harry says, Suspicious Minds. And is there anyone else in music, does anyone come close? “No. The King is the King.”

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Jason Greenwood (below right) knows where the grass grows greenest. He started his career as a technician at the very busy Pirtek Park Royal franchise in 2000, moving swiftly on to become general manager before taking a sabbatical and spending 11 years at a company in a related industry. While this experience was valuable, he eventually decided to return to the leading fluid transfer solutions provider.

After a total of six years at Pirtek Park Royal, which had 16 mobile technicians, Jason decided to take on a new challenge. In his new role at Dixon Group, Jason was an area sales manager looking after the south of the UK. Dixon Group deals with the industrial hose and couplings supply only – selling hoses, so Jason went from hydraulic repair to learning an

Reading - Coming home to Pirtek

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awful lot about the broader hose industry. This included industrial hoses, hygienic systems and… beer. Jason felt a close affinity with Pirtek so with Darren Squire (below right) keen to bring him back into the Pirtek fold, Jason made the leap. This close relationship was demonstrated by John Oswald from Pirtek UK greeting him with a “man hug” on his return. The experienced technician started at Pirtek Reading on 1 December, working two days in Reading, two in Bristol and one working from home or at one or other of the centres. With his industrial sales and engineering background, Jason broadens the opportunities for Pirtek Reading and Pirtek Bristol.

“It’s a good thing for a centre to have a healthy mix of both skill sets,” he says. “I bring industrial product knowledge to the customer, I know the valves, metal hoses and the rest and, for example, I can say ‘Do you know that we can also do this?’” “There are hoses on absolutely everything,” Jason says, “in the automotive industry, brakes, steering, even computers with coolant hoses. “If tomorrow I had to walk into a brewery, I would have the knowledge. I could do a breakdown on one of its vehicles and then move straight on to a beer hose service.” As such, Jason hopes to grow industrial sales knowledge on top of Pirtek’s traditional core services.

He’s clearly pleased to be back. “At Pirtek, everyone’s very driven. Everyone has the same attitude, they’re looking for a challenge, turning a sale, achieving targets. “It’s great to be somewhere where everyone’s on the same page. In contrast, at Dixons people didn’t want to make more work. Pirtek Bristol did its best sales figure in 10 years in November, setting a high bar for Jason to reach. He is clear about his objective, however. “I have come in to beat that,” he says. Jason is a salesman to the core. “The easiest sale you can do is an alternative sale,” he says. “While the customer still hasn’t decided whether to buy, for example, a car, you ask which one they want, the red or the blue – taking the important decision out of their hands.” He knows the psychology of sales, he says, how to get intimate with customer and to gain their confidence before making the sale. “People buy from people,” Jason says. On a visit to Centrax Gas Turbines, he was giving the usual sales pitch saying we can do this for you, at that price “and all the rest”. The manager was beginning to

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glaze over when Jason saw a photo of a classic sports car on the wall. Naturally, he mentioned his Triumph TR6 (below), tapped on to the personal side and made the sale. The company has been a customer ever since. “I may be a little annoying to some customers though,” he says. “I went and saw this customer, we put some pricing issues to bed, made sure he was happy with this, that and the other. Then I said I was going to come back in a week or two and made sure I put a date in the diary. “It’s all about going the extra mile to make sure the customer uses us and comes back – not leaving without a follow up. Once you agree something, walk away, but schedule a follow up. Always give yourself a reason to follow

up. Say ‘I will be back in contact.’ “I’m a bit of a junkie when it comes to sales,” he says. As regards his return to Pirtek, Jason is optimistic. “Pirtek have ambitious plans that I look forward to being part of. They’re excited to get someone on board who can support their MSSTs and talk sales on the industrial side. Someone who can explain, ‘If you’re with us, you’re going to get this, this and this.’” Pirtek Bristol is involved with some real big projects – and fast ones. One such, as previously reported in In the Pipeline, is Bloodhound SSC, the British car designed to break the sound barrier and go on to reach 1000mph, breaking the land speed record by 33%, the largest ever margin.

Currently, after 10 years of development, this is scheduled for summer 2018. This project makes a nice fit with Jason’s extra-curricular interests. As well as a family, two horses and five dogs, he is the proud owner of a Triumph TR6 and a Ford Mustang. With his two classic cars, horses and other luxuries, Jason says to his children, “If you work hard you can have these nice things.”

“I look forward to many years to come at Pirtek.”

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Derby – An ambition to learn

Pirtek Derby offers a good example of how young trainees can be taken on, developed and rise into senior roles over a number of years. Richard Lee-Kong (below) started work at the franchise in 2007, when he was 19 years old. Having spent two years at college studying for an electrical qualification at NVQ level 2, he decided on a change of course not least because of the competitive jobs market in the sector at that time.

“This depot assistant job came up at Pirtek so I thought, I’d apply for it. It had to be better than the part time work I was doing in a supermarket.” Richard was quickly impressed, seeing a future for himself at Pirtek. “I thought, ‘This is all right, I can work my way up’. As soon as I started, I saw what the lads were doing and thought I wanted to do that, to be one of them.” Centre manager, Kevin Jacques (pictured opposite) says, “He came to us a bit raw, with no confidence, just because he was a young lad.”

For about two years, Richard worked mainly in the depot, learning the skills of the trade, making up hoses and related activities. “After about a year, I went for my week one training course and I started to go out with the lads, generally helping out. That’s when I discovered I really wanted to go out on a van myself. After three years Kevin, the new centre manager threw Richard in the deep end, forcing him to sink or swim as an MSST. Richard took the promotion in his stride and became senior MSST about 18 months ago. “We needed someone to get out on the van quick, so he got transferred,” interjects David Smith, the franchisee. As the most experienced MSST Richard takes on the more difficult jobs. “My main contract is looking after the railways,” he says. “That’s not so

“I wanted to learn and work my way up,” says Richard.

He has clearly done this, as Kevin says, “There’s nothing that bothers him now and he has been trained by us to be ready to take over as centre manager at some point in the future. That’s his ultimate aim and we’ll get him there.”

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