Gordon Davies

The Fork Lift Truck Association (FLTA) is mourning the death of its first Lifetime Achievement Award recipient.

The association has praised Gordon Davies, a former FLTA director and chairman of the Industrial Tyre Association, who died at the end of March, aged 77.

Davies was known for steering Watts Industrial Tyres (Watts)' rise to prominence, the FLTA says in a statement.

He joined Watts, then Watts Tyre & Rubber, in 1963 as a sales representative and was appointed to the board as UK sales director in 1985 - a role he maintained until his retirement a decade later.
Watts chairman John Thurston says the company was starting from scratch when Davies joined.

"I believe Watts' first industrial tyre depot was actually a small shed on Gordon's drive. So it's true to say not only that Gordon was with the company from its inception, but that his wife, Shirley, was probably our first depot manager."

FLTA chief executive David Ellison says Davies freely offered his time and effort to others and the entire industry held him in the highest esteem.

The FLTA, then known as Fork Truck Hire Association, presented the Lifetime Achievement Award to Davies in 1985 and granted him honorary lifetime membership.