50 and out as Bill Graham retires from Alloy Wire International
The ever-present in Alloy Wire International ’ s growth has decided to call it a day after clocking up more than five decades of service .
Bill Graham will retire this month after what has been a roller-coaster career with the world ’ s leading manufacturer of round , flat and profile wire , a career that saw him start as a maintenance engineer before leading an MBO , overseeing a sale and then bringing the company back into his ownership .
The former Machine Tool Engineering apprentice was also instrumental in growing the firm ’ s international presence , travelling the globe to build export sales from nothing to over half of its annual turnover .
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He has been Chairman for the last nine years , providing strategic guidance on growth opportunities , industry developments and supporting the management team in the firm ’ s rapid expansion from £ 8m in 2013 to £ 13m at the start of 2022 .
“ When I joined the business in 1972 , I never expected to still be involved 50 years later … Alloy Wire International gets you like that ,” explained Bill , who was born in Paisley in Scotland , but now lives in the Wyre Forest .
“ There ’ s just something really special about the business and what we do , especially since we took the decision to be employee-owned . That was really the moment we put the marker in the sand and created the unique culture that has seen AWI become a globally trusted supplier of 60 + strong range of alloys to more than 7000 customers .”
He continued : “ After five decades of involvement , I felt the time was right to call it a day and focus on retirement . What will that look like ? Travelling and spending much more time with my wife Sandra , who I first met at AWI in 1974 .”
Bill has enjoyed many achievements during his time at Alloy Wire International , but , if you ask him for the pivotal movement , he will always say it was the moment when he implemented his lifelong dream of
Mark Venables , Bill Graham and Tom Mander ( all Alloy Wire International )
introducing employee ownership and profit sharing for every member of staff .
This galvanized the workforce and 23 years on is still in place , with new starters offered the opportunity to join the scheme once they have been with the business for two years .
“ When you are on a journey you must take your best assets with you . By showing our employees that everything they did would ultimately benefit them , the culture changed overnight , and I can honestly say we are a family now and that is reflected in how we have grown the huge customer satisfaction levels we achieve .”
Alloy Wire International has recently promoted Tom Mander to Managing Director , with previous MD Mark Venables moving upstairs to the position of Chairman .
This is an exciting next step in the AWI journey and will accelerate its ambition to increase sales from its current £ 13m level to £ 15m by the end of the year , with most orders now coming from clients overseas .
Mark Venables went on to add : “ Bill
Graham is Alloy Wire International and has had an unbelievable 50 years with the business .
“ I was invited to lead the company in 2010 and have had the honour of guiding it through some major growth and some really difficult times , including the current Covid-19 pandemic .
“ As I was always told , we need to protect the core values that make AWI so special , so
we took the decision last year to make Tom Mander , Adam Shaw and Andrew Du Plessis , MD Designate , Finance Director and Technical Director respectively .
“ This was paving the way for the next generation to take over and Tom ’ s promotion to MD recently is the next step in that process , meaning I can oversee things from the position of Chairman with Bill continuing to be on hand to offer us his experience and advice when required .”
For further information , please visit www . alloywire . com or follow @ alloywire on twitter .