JAMESLANE– HOMESERVEFURNITUREREPAIRS

FurniturerepairerJames Lane endedhis self-employedcontract with Ecomaster in 2004 andstruck outonhis own.

HomeserveFurniture Repairs startedwithhim drivinginhis van to wherever theworktookhim the UK to carryout repairsinhomes

Nowthe firm,currently based at DelphIndustrialEstate, Delph Road, Brierley Hill,employs 248 andisthe largestnationalfurniture repair company forretailers andmanufacturers andthe insurance andwarrantysectors

Within 12 months of starting HomeserveFurniture Repairs, Mr Lane hadgrown thecustomer base enough to recruitand employ four repair technicians andtwo office-basedstaff.The office wasa bedroomand orders came in by fax. Thecompany continuedtogrow, andasmall office wasleasedin

Brierley Hill in 2006 on DelphRoad Industrial Estate.James identified back then that IT wasthe future, andfound acompany that could help builda system,totally bespokefor thebusinesswithJames’s input. Thisallowedcustomers, who were mainly furnitureretailers,to addthe jobs directly on thesystem.

In 2008-2009, when the financialcrisiswas felt throughout the world,the furnitureindustrydid notescape, andthe largestclient of Homeservewentintoadministration,and putthe future of the business at risk.Itwas almost 70 percentofthe customerbase, and meantredundancieshad to be made forthe business to survive.

Allthe growth in the five years of thebusiness hadbeenalmost wipedout

Mr Lane came up with theidea of moving into thefurniture insur- ance/warrantymarket.Thismeant that allrepairworkrequired on furniturethrough theinsurance wouldbedone by Homeserve, thereforeguaranteeingworkfrom an underwriterfor thelengthof the five-yearpoliciessold. James hadtobecome FCAregistered, and find an insurancecompany to work with Homeservecontinued to grow year on year,which meantemployingmorepeopleeachyear. By 2020 thecompany hadsix unitsonthe DelphRoadIndustrialEstate, employing70peopleatthe site,and nowhad arepairtechnicianliving in everypostcode in UK.

Mr Lane hasfor yearslooked to purchase abuilding in thearea andinSeptember last year the dreambecameareality –the perfect building waspurchased on the Waterfront Estate in Brierley Hill

NEIL LLOYD–FBC MANBYBOWDLER

Neil Lloyd wasappointed managingdirectoroflaw firm FBCManby Bowdlerin2020justdaysafterthe countrywas placed into lockdown at thestart of theCovid-19crisis. He hadjoinedthe firm with its head office in George Street,Snow Hill,Wolverhampton, in 2015 as salesdirector.

Sinceits formationin2008FBC

Manby Bowlder hasgrown to employ179 in providingbusinessand personal legalservicesacrossthe West Midlands,Shropshireand Worcestershire Mr Lloyd’sskill setand acumen sawthe firm quicklyask himto head up both humanresourcesand newtechnology, whereheled adigital transformation processwhich wastobeavital part of successful operations during thepandemic. He took on theroleofMDin April2020and hisleadershipsince

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34,000 tonnes of flat rolled products andbylastyearthathad grownto105,000

USPhas invested heavilyin young people workingwithNova Training to bringapprentices to thebusinessand slowly grow the workforce.Six membersofthe currentteamhavesuccessfully completed apprenticeshipsatUSP Steels andearnedfull time permanent contracts.

Mr Costigan developedastrong relationship with SSAB Steel, renowned forhigh qualityproducts within thesectorand we eventually became an exclusive supply partnerfor one of theirspecialist products within theUK.

Workingwithsuchreputable mills grew thecompany’s profile quicklyand focusedondelivering products on asameday/nextday servicethatnoother competitor couldmatch.In2019the business rebranded from United Sheet & PlateSteels to USP Steels

It changedits identity from green colourstobrightpinkcolouring to modernise itsimage

Thepandemicpresented afresh challengeasUSP wassupplying many keyNHS contracts andit wascriticaltooffer an improved deliveryservice to help.

It begandespatching on weekends andexpandedoperational hoursto24/7.

Thesignificant growth created increasedprofitability andMr

Costigan committed to reinvesting theseprofits back into thebusiness throughthe acquisitionofthe new four-acresitewith40,000 sq ft of stockspace –a huge increaseon thecurrent 20,000 sq ft.

Thenew site hasbreakoutareas andmultiple workingzones clearlyhighlights therealimpact of hisinnovative, imaginative and entrepreneurial approach to business success.

“Instantly,all theplans we had drawnupfor thebusiness during thehandover period were overtaken by events.But then whyshould leadingina crisis be anydifferent to leadinginnormaltimes?I firmly believethatifyou look afteryour team,theywill look afteryourclients, whichinturnleads to growth, andsoonitgoes

“So, Istuck to theprinciples whichI believehaveservedmeand my colleagues so well up untilnow In short, theseare fairness,honesty,openness, transparencyand clarity,”heexplained He wasalready awinner of the Artesian Awardfor outstanding leadership andvisionand LawNet’s outstandingindividualcontribu- tion before theCovid crisis hitand he hassince setthe barfor stewarding abusinessthrough unprecedentedtimes

Hisleadershipinthe last year hasseena specificfocus on support forstaff with adrive to improve employee engagement,wellbeing anddevelopment

Mr Lloyd hasworkedwithsenior management to introduceseveral initiativeswhich have hadapositive impact at everylevel of our business

He is crystalclear that it is the teamshemanages whichare the reason forFBC ManbyBowdler’s success.MrLloyd says:“Ibelieve ourpeopleare thereasonfor our success andshouldbeinformed about,and involvedin, decisions whichwillmap outall ourfutures It’s been importanttoshowreal trustinour people.”