On Friday 11th November, we held our end of year event ‘Let’s Talk About Tomorrow’ at the Riverside Stadium, Middlesbrough.
It has been a momentous year for Polar, and we wanted to bring the entire Polar family together to celebrate and look back at almost 40 years of operating, the last financial year, but most importantly, to look ahead at what the future holds.
The event, hosted by Managing Director James Hill, was a great success which saw the Senior Management Team present about their respective areas showing how positive this past year has been, how promising the future looks for us all, and the amazing opportunities coming up.
The look back at our financial year 21/22 included numbers and statistics from Jonathan Turnbull (Finance Manager) on the financial performance of the year gone including key investments made for growth, from Stefan John (Health and Safety Manager) on H&S matters such as accident and incidents, and Rob Lofthouse (Operations Manager) looking back at specific key projects and their operational performance.
The event also gave us the opportunity to thank Sandy Baxter (Almost 40 Years of Service) and Ray Hill (30 Years of Service) who have now fully retired from Polar, giving up their positions as Directors and Shareholders, after a long and successful lifetime building Polar into the company it is today.
On the look forward, James Hill covered the future primary focus on specialised and niche projects which demand Polar’s bespoke product suite, developed over the past 15 years and how these products have the ability to save lives and really make a difference in the world.
To add body to this future plan, Nick Sutton (Sales Manager) discussed the marketplace and the clear demand and opportunity for these types of projects from conversations he has had with key clients. He specifically discussed the projects we’ve already won, and new sectors we could break into while focussing on our niche.
Rob Lofthouse explained the plan for how we can make this happen operationally, the work being done to improve efficiency currently in fabrication and how this could be reproduced across departments to be an overall more successful, smoother ran company.
Jon Shanks, a recent addition to the Polar family as Head of People, introduced himself to the company. He touched on the employee benefit package and how people really are the most important thing at Polar, so let’s ensure the employees are looked after.
Finally, time was given to thank those who’ve achieved 10+ years of service with Polar and gifts for those with 20+ years. Special thanks were given to Peter Wilson (Fabrication Team Leader) for achieving 30+ years service with the company.
The event allowed us to talk about tomorrow, and how much we need the whole Polar family to move forward. We’re now ready to keep moving Polar forward and building upon our legacy.
