 Briggs CEO Richard Close |
While Europe was badly hit by economic downturn, Briggs Equipment has transformed from a loss-making business into a multi-million pound generator, achieving a 10-fold profit increase in 2011 over the previous year.
CEO Richard Close, who took the reins when the company was making a loss to the tune of GBP9.6 million (USD15.4 million), shares with Forkliftaction.com News the steps he took to turn the company around.
In 2010, the company made its second-highest profit of GBP300,000 (USD480,000). This record was broken 10-fold in 2011, with Briggs generating a GBP3 million profit (USD4.8 million. In September 2012, Briggs also bought out a major competitor - Barloworld Handling UK - to position itself as the company with the largest, multi-skilled mobile engineering workforce in the UK.
Close tells Forkliftaction.com News that he passionately believes a company's staff is its biggest asset and that positive change in a business occurs through them. When he took over, he prioritised employee engagement, ensuring everyone involved was 'on board' with business objectives to turn the company around.
His initiatives to build employee engagement and loyalty included establishing a culture of approachable management, offering training to all staff, instilling a culture of autonomous management where employees are trusted and given responsibility to make their own decisions and launching regular face-to-face contact across the board.
"By developing a more 'open plan' office culture, employees feel confident about approaching management with any issues. The senior management team regularly 'walk the walk', getting among shop floor staff to find out what issues are.
"Putting pressure on middle management from below, as well as above, [also] led to a more cohesive workforce with a common goal," Close says.
According to Briggs, UK forklift sales almost halved during the recession, with 32,000 units ordered in 2007 and about 17,000 ordered in 2009. Briggs saw this as an opportunity. By not selling forklifts but leasing them, the company found itself in a "recession-proof" state.
The ability to be flexible also contributed to its success. For example, if a customer was struggling to renew a five-year contract, Briggs was able to offer them an extension of a year to their existing contract.
"Being in a position to offer flexibility and going 'over and above' in terms of customer relations is essential when times are tough, and ensures positive relationships for the future," Close explains.
"As a contract hire and leasing business, Briggs was not affected as much by the current economic climate as a consumer-focused company or an outright sales business," he adds.
Briggs UK offers short-term forklift hire, managed forklift servicing, used equipment and forklift parts and tyres for any equipment brand. It aims to continue growing organically through IT sophistication, employee empowerment and having confidence in the market.
"Customer service is a priority for me, and I would like to see 100% customer retention. I am passionate about employee engagement as a means to company success, and this I believe is what stands us apart: engaging staff leads to superior customer relations which in turn leads to customer retention," Close says.
The company also wants to identify acquisition opportunities in conjunction with its partners, Yale and Hyster.
Close says the company will develop new business by building on existing leads and breaking into new sectors like the public sector.
Overseas development is also on the agenda.
"Working with key partners in a number of international markets, this is something I believe is achievable over the next five years," he says.
Formerly Finning Materials Handling, Briggs Equipment UK Ltd became part of Sammons Enterprises in September 2006, a deal brokered by Close. Sammons is a diversified holding company with stake in industrial equipment, insurance and hospitality. Its assets approach USD50 billion and it ranks among the world's largest privately owned companies.