Only when I look back was I able to see we had plateaued, in terms of improving and developing the business.
The first team was the MBO team. Don Walker, Jim Robinson, John Harris, Frank Murphy, Joe Eames and myself. Joe and John retired about three years after the MOB. Mick Mees, a former Rearsby employee, replaced John. This team had created and stabilised the business as a private company and in particular, gained the all important new customers. This gave us a firm base upon which to improve quality, productivity and profit.
The second phase was where the three remaining fellow Shareholding directors* left executive office, but retained their Rearsby group directorships retaining overall control. Mees left. Trevor Smedley, followed by Brian Winch, was Manufacturing Director, Chris Price then Ken Bunker as Engineering Director, Terry O’Reilly as Personnel Manager and Graham Speechley followed by Stephen Bryant as Sales Manager with (briefly) Alan Bement as Finance Director. This team took on supplying our new customers, achieved significant gains in quality performance and consolidated those gains.
* Don, Jim and Frank were all 11 years older than myself. We reasoned, if an opportunity to sell the business was to present itself, the absence of shareholding directors in key positions, may prove more palatable to potential buyers.
The third team, by far the leanest, was excellent for its purpose. The team was Jeff Armitage, Manufacturing Director, David Johnson, Finance Director and Les Tustin as Sales & Engineering Director. I closed the Personnel Department, passing all responsibility for employees to the respective employing directors and their teams. This team’s task was to continue the quality improvements, win new customers (VW-Audi), accelerate the path to ‘lean manufacture’, improve our productivity and above all achieve a good profitable return on our investment.