Two of the UK’s longest serving colleagues are retiring after a combined 88 years of service to the business.
Rob Hodson, who works in Refire in the Armitage plant, and Contract Sales Manager Gary Townsend are leaving the company after both clocking up more than four decades with Ideal Standard and Armitage Shanks.
Rob, 66, whose nickname is “Peter Pan”, has reached an incredible 46 years with the company, having started in May 1973.
He has worked in the Refire department for all of his 46-year tenure and is well and truly thought of as the “Refire legend” by colleagues.
Born and bred in Armitage, Rob followed in the footsteps of his dad and grandad who both worked in the plant. His son, Phil, also joined the company and works in estimating.
Of his plans for his retirement, Rob, pictured above with Aston Villa Assistant Head Coach John Terry, said: “I go horse riding and hope to help out at Riding for the Disabled, and I will be busy with the grandchildren.
“I’ll be at the football too because I’m a season ticket holder at Aston Villa.”
He added: “I shall miss the people here and the banter we’ve had in Refire but I think your body tells you when to retire and I’ve done 12 months over.
“I’ve made a lot of good friends over the years I’ve been here. It will be emotional when I retire but time catches up with us all.”
Gary, pictured above in 1992, retires on Monday and will be heading off Down Under before long.
Gary, his wife Beverley and son Andrew are going to Australia for three weeks to visit their daughter Amy.
He also plans to do a lot more running, as he can only manage twice a week currently because of work commitments.
In the longer term, Gary and Beverley plan to buy a holiday home in the sun and escape the “dreadful Scottish winters”.
Gary, 58, said: "I have worked with a lot of great people over the years and I hope to keep in touch as these friendships go beyond your working life.
"Keep up the good work and we will stay out in front.”
Gary has written about his memories of his career with the company in this article.