the big interview
When Michael says he will ‘go the extra mile’, he literally will! From a chat on the football pitch sidelines to becoming the Owner and Director of Woodford Tools, Michael Kyriacos shares his story with Sarah Dale.
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let’s talkbusiness
Nothing is too much trouble for Michael Kyriacos, the owner of Woodford Tools, as far as his customers are concerned. When a client needed a hazardous chemical urgently so they could fulfil a contract, he jumped in his car and drove to Amsterdam to pick it up. “When you’re talking to new customers, I can say all these things about valuing customers, but you won’t know for sure until we start working together,” says Michael. “Everyone says their customer service is the best. It’s a phrase that people use but when you look at it closely, they’re talking about what people expect anyway such as quick delivery. We go above and beyond, like the example above.” Woodford Tools is a supplier of abrasives, tools, PPE, Workwear, commercial hygiene, janitorial and may more products into the engineering, aerospace, automotive engineering, precision engineering, service and care sectors.
The original company was founded in 1977 under a different name and Woodford Tools was born in 1992 when a previous owner bought it. Michael bought it just over five years ago, having joined the company 10 years ago as Operations Director. Michael’s entrepreneurial spirit was sparked when he was just 13 years old and growing up in South Africa. He loved electronics and would spend hours taking apart remotecontrolled cars to see how they worked. His aunt had a toy shop and when games consoles were out of warranty but needed repairs, she asked him if he would like to have a go at fixing them. And so started a regular source of income for Michael and gave him the bug of selling. “I am a resilient and determined sort of person,” says Michael, Who has two children, the oldest 18, the youngest 14. “In 2003, me and my wife – we were engaged at the time – decided that with nothing, no job, no house, we would move to the UK.