On Sunday, the 50th anniversary of his start with the business, Senior Flushing Efficiency Product Engineer John Hird headed into retirement. We spoke to John about his career with the business and what he has enjoyed so much about his working life.
Tell us about your early career.
I started as a trainee draughtsman on August 1, 1972, aged 16, at Monobond in Otley, West Yorkshire, which was soon purchased by Armitage Shanks. I did a year in the tool room before being thrown in at the deep end to do all the product and tool drawing aged 18. When I now look back on the work I did then you can tell I was still learning.
Otley was an injection moulding site where we made cistern fittings. We were separate from the “pot boys” – the ceramics people – and on the whole left to our own devices to design and develop products. In a small factory we were all involved in everything; I was part product design, tooling, manufacturing, quality assurance through to having to deal with any complaints and aftercare. I had progressed to being Technical Manager when Otley closed in 2015 and moved to the Hull site 43 years to the day after I started and now I’m leaving the company 50 years to the day again.
What have you enjoyed most about your job?
I like working things out and making things. I’ve had an enjoyable 50 years working with others to do this. I enjoy being creative and working with people to make things and sort out problems. On a previous interview like this I was asked “What do you do for fun?” and I said I come to work, which apparently wasn’t the answer they were looking for. Everyone needs to enjoy something about their work. I like being challenged and I challenge everyone else.
You’ve also got to make the best of everything. One of my old bosses, who was also marketing director, would not allow me to refer to problems but I had to call them opportunities instead. Which is right. Every time we’ve had a setback there’s a way to turn it into an advantage. Even with the closure of the Otley site some of my old colleagues have thrived since.
How do you feel about spending your career with one company?
The company has given a lot of people a good life and I’m one of them. We’ve done well. Working in a small factory family and being involved in the wider company I feel I’ve always been given the chance to expand, progress and develop myself and others.
When I left school at 16 I felt I missed out on an education but with the help of the company and being from the night school engineer generation I spent another 14 years going though City & Guilds, HNC, BSc and MSc in Mould Design, Engineering, Production Engineering and Manufacture of Polymers.
The work I’ve been involved in are the sort of things you only know about if they don’t work – all the stuff inside the cistern. We are still talking about the products I drew up at the start. I’ve just come off a call where we were organising the continued production of a product I worked on when I was 20.
Retiring colleagues often say it’s the people they will miss the most. Is it the same for you?
Yes. Most of all I am going to miss working with the people I’ve known for a long time. At times we have not always agreed but we had the best intentions and were focused on getting the job done. Many of the people I have enjoyed working with have now left, such as Sue and Chris leaving last month and David Pratt leaving the same day as me. But renewal has to be a good thing.
My workmates have been such a big part of my life and I would like to say to them thanks for everything – it’s been fun.
John is pictured at the top in 2014 and in the middle aged 18.