Keeping it in the family at Firebird!

Keeping it in the family at Firebird!

When Neil Skinner’s father-in-law Kevin Wilson was made redundant in his late 50’s he “didn’t fancy retirement” and set about finding a job to utilise his skills as an Electrical and Mechanical Fitter:-

“I did find a job”, Kevin says, “but it was in York and we live in Elsecar, near Barnsley.  So although I enjoyed the work I didn’t enjoy the 120 mile round trip it entailed. That doesn’t sound too bad until you realise it’s 1,000 miles a week – and I reluctantly had to put in my notice….”

At the same time, however, Firebird’s customer base was growing rapidly and increasing volumes of wire and strip demanded a more efficient stock control system.

In stepped Kevin:-

“Neil asked me to come in and help on an informal basis, but that’s now grown to 5 half days a week” Kevin says “I’m used to working in a tidy and efficient environment and that’s what we’ve got; I’m responsible for ‘material in/material out’, ensuring everything’s in its place and accounted for – and the correct weighting and packing procedures are carried out”.

Kevin relishes the day to day activity though it does somewhat curtail his off – road cycling hobby:-

“As we get busier, it’s essential our customers continue to benefit from the fastest turn-round possible and we’re achieving that” he says.

“Firebird has a well-deserved reputation for fast response particularly in regard to customer response and quotations so it’s essential we also maintain that level of service in materials despatch”.

Says Neil:-

“Kevin delivers an important service within Firebird and it’s great to see his talents being deployed on behalf of our customers and indeed our suppliers….”