Welcome to the first Mr Loadlink blog of 2015!
Unlike a lot of companies where communication with customers, partners and industry fades away as they become distracted by the day-to-day demands of the business, Straightpoint remains committed to keeping you informed, educated and entertained through content, tailored for our variety of audiences across the world.
Content and marketing messages are key components of our growth strategy and the busier we get (and we’re busy!) and the faster we grow, the more communicative we will become.
I’m somewhat unique as a lifting equipment leader in that I head this content campaign myself. As you may have read in the press release we circulated recently about the relaunch of the Mr Loadlink blog, I embrace communications and content marketing whole-heartedly and feel it is important that I have a voice as the company leader on social media and other platforms. Keeping in touch gives us a business advantage and this blog is very much part of that ongoing engagement.
Make sure you’re also following me on Twitter at @LoadCell where I post more bite-size pearls of wisdom!
This clarity of communication and ethos of transparency is prevalent throughout the business and is certainly a key part of our annual strategy meetings that take place at the start of every year. My first working days of 2015 were spent at Havant, UK headquarters committing the business to a plan for the next 12 months or so. Everyone was made aware of the goals and is clear what is expected of them and the tools the business will provide them to be successful.
Welcome to Hayley and Debra
We also introduced Hayley Willis, who started in purchasing; and Debra Young, who joined our sales order processing team, to the Havant operation in the New Year. Welcoming new staff always gives me a great deal of satisfaction; the requirement for more people is a yardstick by which to measure our ongoing expansion. It is important to me that they feel part of the team and it was great to see how well and quickly they fitted in.
Across the pond
On 12 January I boarded my first flight of the year to North America where we duplicated much of this planning but outlined the targets, challenges and opportunities specifically for the Camarillo, California-based subsidiary. John Molidor, the general manager of the stateside operation, Jenifer Wolfe, Johnnny Gonzalez and I had a series of hugely rewarding meetings about our goals for a business that we have earmarked for 20-30% annual growth over the next five years. We can only achieve that with a robust business plan in place.
I’ll remain in the states for another week or so. We are excited to make a debut appearance at the Topsides, Platforms & Hulls Conference & Exhibition at Moody Gardens Hotel & Convention Center in Galveston, Texas, on 3-5 February. There, we hope to see end users who apply our equipment to the design, engineering, construction, transportation, installation, and modification of topside structures, platforms and hulls. I’ll report back in my next blog. www.topsidesevent.com
Dwarfed by two great pictures is me preparing our stand for Topsides in Texas! Images are a vital part of our marketing materials particularly at trade shows. I encourage anyone who uses our equipment to send us pictures; we’re always keen to include them in our own marketing campaigns and it’s great PR for your company too. Send them to Tanya in the UK office: tgregory@straightpoint.com
Memorable moment
January was a special month for another reason as my parents joined me for part of the stateside trip on their first visit to the USA. We showed them around the Camarillo facility before driving down the coastal road to San Francisco. They spent six days with us and were completely captivated by a beautiful country where the hospitality and customer service never fails to impress even frequent visitors like myself. The picture of my parents with the team in Camarillo captures a particularly memorable moment.
Pictured here (left to right) is me; John; mum, Linda; Jenifer; Johnny; and dad, Peter. My parents are very proud of what I have achieved with the business and found the facility to be much bigger than they expected. They spent some time chatting with the team and thought they were a great bunch.
It’s been a pleasure to pause, albeit briefly, to wrap up a few highlights from the first month of the year. Work continues on our new catalogue which will unveil several new products when it is published in April. Further details about that and much more in the next Mr Loadlink blog in February.
I look forward to catching up with you somewhere in the world soon.
Cheers!
Mr Loadlink
Mr Loadlink is Straightpoint director David Ayling