With summer in full swing, we recently celebrated a century of trading with an afternoon BBQ for staff, along with former Managing Directors, consultants and other suppliers.
An opportunity to reflect on 100 remarkable years in an industry which has seen incredible growth and change, the afternoon also saw speeches, awards and the hidden culinary talents of Barry Akers, Commercial Director, and Adam Price ,Sales Director, come to the fore as lead cooks.
As one of the UK’s oldest and most established steel suppliers, with a network of clients around the UK, and across the globe, marking 100 years in business was an important milestone that had to be recognised by bringing all of the Hillfoot ‘family’ together.
Apart from all current Hillfoot staff joining the celebrations, it was great to welcome to Friday’s event Chris Green, an ex-Director and member of the founding family, prior to the sale of the Group to Murray Internal Holdings in 2008.
Members of our current senior management team, David Murray Jr, Group MD for Murray Capital; Euan Campbell, Group FD for Murray Capital and Non-Executive Director for Hillfoot; Craig James, Hillfoot Managing Director; and Ben Martin, Hillfoot Financial Director were not just there to mingle among staff but also to recognise the many different people who have played a part in the most recent evolution of Hillfoot’s first century, and to share visions of the future.
Chris Green gave a speech which reminded everyone of the journey Hillfoot had taken from its founding years in the 1920s to its current position as one of the UK’s leading names in an industry which continues to see constant change, delighting the crowd as he regaled with tales of yesteryear.
As a company that prides itself on its genuine commitment to the development of its people, the afternoon also saw three Hillfoot employees receive long service awards.
Awards and congratulations were given to Colin MacFarlan, Mark Bailey and (although he was away on holiday) Shawn Wigfield.
Commenting on the long service awards, and the enjoyable event, Hillfoot Managing Director Craig James said:
“Hillfoot is made of steel but built by people. It’s a fantastic endorsement of the commitment of our employees that Hillfoot is here today celebrating an incredible century in business.
Recent years have not been without their challenges, but it is the resilience, shared ambition and determination of our people that has enabled us to retain our enviable position as a leading, and highly respected, name within our industry.
I just want to say a big “thank you” to everyone who has helped us get to where we are today, and I look forward to steering us into our second century of business.”
As a company with a commitment to its people, Hillfoot also remains committed to the communities in which it operates and is currently proud to be supporting the invaluable work of the Bluebell Wood children’s hospice, while also championing sporting excellence with sponsorship of the Sheffield Steelers ice hockey team.
As our thoughts turn to the next century we’re also deeply conscious of our role in protecting the environment for future generations, so we are continuously developing our ERP policy and actively looking at further improvements to compliment previous initiatives such as the production of our own renewal energy, energy efficient operations, paperless working systems and offering our employees an electric car buying scheme.