November 2018 – MR LOADLINK

Home Sweet Home—Part Two

In the second of a two-part finale to 2018, Mr. Loadlink remains confident that we could be at the dawn of an exciting new era.

Remember where we left off; we were talking about the inaugural Lifting Equipment Engineers Association (LEEA) Awards, which took place after the first day of LiftEx. We’d also discussed a bumper show, generally. Allow me to continue…

It was a privilege to listen to celebrity guest speaker Matt Dawson, a retired England rugby union player and now a familiar face on UK television, who hosted the gala evening. His presence also gave the occasion gravitas—and we should be raising up our sector. There’s a point to my gushing praise of the night, far beyond a bit of trumpet blowing, in that even our mere association with the event enhanced our reputation as a business. Being shortlisted beefed us up some more, and claiming a piece of silverware was the icing on the cake. Not all awards do that, as I’ll explain.

Matt Dawson’s appearance raised the profile of the LEEA Awards evening.

To some extent that cake was baked a few weeks earlier when our Bluetooth-enabled Radiolink plus load cell and accompanying HHP app were named Lifting Product of the Year at the largest Speedy Expo ever, which took place at the Exhibition Centre Liverpool as November dawned. And it’s in the high profile of both that event and the LEEA extravaganza sits a key point. Business awards are aplenty, but not all of them carry the same weight. Where they control their own entries, I encourage companies to only enter awards when involvement alone inflates a reputation.

Fool’s gold

We’re proud of our burgeoning trophy cabinet but like so much in business, it’s about quality not quantity. We don’t want to be known for attending the opening of an envelope. By that I mean there are firms out there who enter every award going, no matter the relevance or stature, just to brag about another ‘title’. They’ll do anything to feature in their local newspaper and would happily pay for favour and recognition. The LEEA and Speedy awards are different, as Paul Fulcher, director at Rigging Services, and chairman of the association, kindly said in a recent SP media announcement:

“I had two reasons for offering my congratulations to David [Mr. Loadlink] and SP—one with my company hat on and the other as a representative of the association. The integrity of the awards must be absolute. Beyond that, with regards to the Safety Award, it can’t be subjective; there are objective measurements. A single nominee wouldn’t guarantee a winner, nor would the judges have bestowed the honour upon the best of a bad bunch. Thus, it must have been the opinion of the panel [comprising senior LEEA management and honorary life members] that SP were truly deserving—and that warrants sincere commendation.”

Thank you, Paul!

I don’t want to get sidetracked by our methodology behind the entry process of awards but needless to say a meaningful application will go further with judges than something lightweight. Phil Roch, marketing executive, did a fantastic job with our recent submissions and we owe much of our success to him. Cutting and pasting from the ‘awards entry’ document on file isn’t a viable shortcut. Someone once told me, entering awards is like writing an exam paper; constantly refer back to the question or criteria—and that stuck with me. It doesn’t guarantee success, at least not when the award is authentic, but it certainly helps separate the wheat from the chaff.

Here I am with (left to right) Dr. Ross Moloney, CEO at LEEA; Doug Price, technical manager at Rigging Services; and Matt Dawson upon collection of silverware at the LEEA Awards evening.

Turning a corner

Recognition from Speedy for our Bluetooth capability was fitting given that uptake of that technology in particular will be a standout memory of 2018 for me. Just as it was apparent that younger people and women are more prevalent throughout our sector now, the industry is also becoming more technologically minded and ambitious. It remains a traditional marketplace—the pyramids were assembled using many lifting and rigging techniques we still employ today—but our supply chain is definitely more receptive to state-of-the-art products versus the time when, say, LiftEx was inaugurated 14 or so years ago.

Given the extent of the tradition that many hold so dear, I doff my cap to the market for taking such bold steps. I hope that doesn’t sound patronising. It’s proof that even the most old school of industries can embrace technology and find a happy medium. The benefits of load cells that use wireless technology for exchanging data over short distances to communicate with up to eight devices, carrying the information up to 100m (328 ft.) away, are undeniable. Yet, uptake of such solutions is rarely immediate, particularly in long established spaces.

Some said I was a bit ‘bah humbug’ in conclusion of my previous blog but now with the season of goodwill closer in our sights, I’ll happily take an opportunity to wish everyone who celebrates it a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Big plans for 2019 are already afoot here at SP.

Thank you for reading Part Two. You can revisit the first installment below.

Mr. Loadlink

My favourite photo from LiftEx 2018.

Home Sweet Home—Part One

In the first of a two-part finale to 2018, Mr. Loadlink explains why we could be at the dawn of an exciting new era.

LiftEx leads a nomadic existence—but could that be about to change? Here’s why I’m voting Remain (again).

The annual trade show, hosted by the Lifting Equipment Engineers Association (LEEA), wanders around the UK from year to year, bouncing from hotel to exhibition hall to sports stadium and back again. A caravan of vendors travels with it from town to town, setting up stalls, participating in various co-located activities. As such, LiftEx has always felt like a bit of a pilgrimage. And it’s true people follow it like a religion. That was until this year when, over two days in mid-November, the Marshall Arena in Milton Keynes (MK) started to feel like home—like the Holy Land.

There, in the shadows of MK Dons’ football stadium, where frivolities and formalities alike took place in the onsite DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel, the show exhaled, as though it meant to stay. True enough, word quickly spread around the aisles that LEEA plans to return next year and then, who knows, perhaps the show could create a footprint there to the same extent as other residencies around the world?

The Dons, formerly Wimbledon, found a home there following their altogether more controversial relocation from south London, after all.

Has LiftEx finally found a residence?

LiftEx, perhaps like the promotion chasing League Two side, is a unique concept. It’s a very trade centric show and has never really attracted great numbers from the user community. Neither do the aisles ever burst at the seams; roughly the same footfall was recorded in MK, as Telford, Aberdeen, Liverpool, Bolton, and so on. For manufacturers, however, great networking is on offer and even the distributors seem to come back each time. Let’s face it; it’s the only time of year that the lifting gear sector comes together, and for that reason it’s precious. I also had conversations with attendees from the U.S., Canada, and further afield, proving that quality of visitor was there too. LiftEx hasn’t lasted this long through sentiment alone.

Hand in glove

The Marshall (formerly MK) Arena is fit for purpose. That’s not to say the Telford International Centre, Aberdeen Exhibition and Conference Centre, Exhibition Centre Liverpool, etc. weren’t, but the show didn’t have to puff out its chest to fill the floor, neither did it have to suck in its stomach. Size doesn’t matter in the trade show business; I’ve exhibited at some terrible, large expos and some brilliant, small ones. The neighbouring hotel in the stands of the football stadium also worked well. Again, not too grand but not too dingy. Centre of gravity. Equilibrium. Ideal. Perfect, even. I heard it all said about LiftEx 2018 and I concur. And we haven’t even talked about the centrepiece yet—the inaugural LEEA Awards, held after the opening day.

It was the first trade show that I’d attended with my 18-year-old son, Isaac Ayling (aka Mr. Loadlink Jr.), who was also a finalist in the LEEA Awards’ Apprentice of the Year category. An expo debut at LiftEx, say, a decade ago would have been a different experience. Many avoid the subject but it’s true to say that it used to be an ageing, male-dominated community, on exhibition stands and in the aisles. Finally, that’s changing and it was encouraging to see a higher representation of women and young professionals this year. I hope that goes some way to persuading Isaac and his peers to stay in the lifting industry. We need them.

The Marshall Arena show floor was tailor-made for LiftEx.

Isaac didn’t win the award outright; Straightpoint (SP) was more fortunate in the safety category, while shortlists in Innovative Product of the Year, Sustainable Solution of the Year, and Unsung Hero (Roshan Divakaran, design engineer) were high praise enough. More significantly, LEEA used its flagship event to make a definitive move to recognise member companies and individual representatives for their success against specific judging criteria. Customer Service, Manager of the Year, and the Kevin Holmes Award (a memorial accolade developed to reward companies, teams, and individuals who display excellence in people development) completed the list of honours. Many feel that the principle of the awards concept will define the association’s work moving forward. Watch this space.

It was fun to celebrate SP’s LEEA Safety Award win with my son, Isaac, at LiftEx.

As I told trade media upon collection of the Rigging Services-sponsored Safety Award, the idea generally was well received and from a member’s perspective the evening was a big success, befitting of an excellent LiftEx in totality. To emerge victorious in the safety category was overwhelming given LEEA’s stature in the industry and the extent to which safety is in our company’s DNA. We underscore our work with the mantra ‘making the lifting industry a safer place’ and what stronger endorsement could there be that we’re meeting that objective?

It feels too early to start summing up the year. In fact, while I’m happy to participate in any occasion of merriment, I’m always amazed at the wholesale support those with commercial interest in the season get in starting the Christmas season in mid-November. I’m no Ebenezer Scrooge but I wonder what negative impact it has on other industries when people are wearing festive hats and playing carols six weeks before the big day. Perhaps employers feel the opposite is the case but I’d be wary of any business environment that can be uplifted to better productivity at the sight of a snow globe.

I might afford myself some more festive spirit in the next installment.

Thank you for reading Part One.

Mr. Loadlink

Category: November 2018

Home Sweet Home—Part Two

Home Sweet Home—Part One