As Joloda Hydaroll, the world’s leading provider of loading and unloading systems reflects on the reasons for its 60-year success, there is one part of its business that has been instrumental in its achievements; key driver for its growth and enabler to the continued success it enjoys with its client base.
This ‘magic ingredient’? It’s people.
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Joloda Hydraroll boasts a phenomenal track record of retention, employee loyalty and staff satisfaction. Not only does this translate to the service its clients receive, but also in the commitment its workers show in wanting to be part of the expansion and growth the company is experiencing.
Joloda acquired the Anglesey-based, loading systems company, Hydraroll in 2002, learn more About Us and Our History.
One such employee is Mick Egan, who this year is celebrating 40 years with Joloda Hydraroll having first joined this business in 1982. Here’s is his story:
It actually started in school, in the metalwork class. I really enjoyed working with my hands and working through the processes needed to achieve the thing I wanted to. I was lucky enough to get an apprenticeship in fabricating/welding at a company that was owned by one of my dad’s friends where I learnt my craft and it just carried on from there.
I’d only been working for a few years before joining them. I completed my apprenticeship and continued working in the vehicle fabrication business but if I remember right, the company I was working for at the time closed down so I started looking at other businesses in the south Liverpool area. Joloda seemed like a perfect match for my skills so I applied – and here I still am! I undertook some advanced welding training in the early days and built up my expertise from there.
There’s been a lot, but I remember back in the days when I worked on the tools we got a contract from an American cherry-picker company. They commissioned us to make a load of moving floors, which were sent over to their American factory in Seattle. It was a really tight turnaround in just a few weeks but we did it. I remember that the client was so pleased that they arranged for us all to go on a night out courtesy of them!
Later in my career, I remember an installation in Argentina in Buenos Aires docks. I went over there for around a month complete the installation; I set up a team of about 15 of us who were building the container floor over the length of the dock all at once – it was pretty impressive.
I think on a more personal note that the career progression I’ve had with Joloda Hydraroll is something I’m immensely proud of. I always considered myself a manual worker, but with the right support I’ve been able to move into the office side of things and learn all of the skills that come with being a manager and whilst it hasn’t always come naturally, I’ve persevered and really enjoyed learning new things.
I actually think it’s the culture and the way people are treated. Joloda Hydraroll today is very different to what it was 40 years ago, but I think you could say that of all companies because it was just a different time. What’s been great to see is the way the business is continuing to evolve and them recognising the value of the people they employ – it makes me proud to be part of the business.
That’s easy – getting things done. I’ve been here for so long and seen so much that there isn’t much I don’t know and when I don’t know myself, I can definitely identify who can help!
To give me the time and space needed to learn more about the business side of the business, and especially IT. I put myself in the pigeonhole of being a manual worker because I didn’t think I was academically minded but over the years I’ve proved myself wrong. I wish I’d had that confidence in myself when I was starting out.
Mick is just one of a number of employees celebrating multiple decades with Joloda Hydaroll. He demonstrates perfectly that wherever you are in your career, you can learn new skills, choose a different path and continue to develop with the right support from your employer.
