“
The
Superheroes of the
Bearing and PT industry
“
GODIVA Bearings stands today for a tradition of 40 years distribution in bearings and related PT products. The story behind this company is like a never ending comic book with its own dynamics, characters and Superheroes. In an interview with GODIVA’s Chief Executive Officer Mr. Tom Hamlett, we discussed the story behind the Super Heroes of GODIVA. What is your role in the company? As a small privately owned company my role can change from day to day but overall I am responsible for the smooth running and long term sustainability of Godiva. I can have a sales hat on one day, a purchasing the next, marketing one another and even a hi-vis one for working within our busy warehouse! I believe that being an effective leader means you should lead by example and there’s no better way of promoting good ethics to staff as them seeing that you are committed in all aspects. I suppose the short answer would be that I am a very hands-on type of guy but at the same time allowing the staff to explore different options, make mistakes and more importantly learn by them. I also make myself available to staff at all times and there is no appointment necessary as there are in some firms. This is one of the parts of Godiva that I like the best, working with likeminded employees discussing new ideas and then seeing them through to completion.
What’s the history and evolution within GODIVA? Godiva started as a small 2 man band in Surrey Page: 12
in 1976 by Ian and Paul Cuthill. They had a small amount of customers in the local area that were serviced by Paul on his 50cc moped! One of the products that were deemed somewhat as a niche was Rose Rod Ends and IKO Pillow Ball joints. It was ultimately this that set Godiva up as one of the leading suppliers of rod ends and probably the largest stock holder of this product anywhere in the world. Since taking on the rest of the IKO agency over 30 years ago we have also been associated with other leading brands of the bearing world. We are extremely proud to be a Schaeffler distributor and again have a long standing relationship with them. We still have a fantastic reputation for being a top rod end supplier and are sole distributors of the E liner bearing from NMB and sole UK distributors for Fluro in the UK – both of whom we have a lot of history with. Currently we have 3 branches – soon to be 4 – with over 50 members of staff and we dispatch over 400 orders per day which not only include bearings but belts, chain and pneumatics and many other products too. Bearing News • Issue 5