Clearview National February 2019 - Issue 207 | Page 10

INDUSTRYNEWS
“If it’s not good
enough to go
in my house, it
doesn’t leave
the factory”
Stedek’s Alex Page describes his rise from
seventeen-year-old apprentice to Managing
Director of a fast-growing fabricator…
» » OUR SALES DIRECTOR
Richard always says I was born
on the bench, as my dad Steve
was one of Stedek’s founders, but
that’s a bit of an exaggeration.
I started working for Stedek
when I left school at 17. Back
then it was just a job, and my head
was elsewhere – I was obsessed
with becoming a Formula One
mechanic at the time. But before
long, I began to take it much more
seriously.
In my first five years at Stedek,
I did every job in the factory you
could possibly think of. I didn’t
get any special treatment just
because I was the MD’s son. I had
to start at the bottom and work
my way up, and I’m really grateful
for that.
‘Rigorous QC
checks take place
at every stage
of production
to ensure the
highest standards’
By the end, it meant that I’d
become an experienced fabricator,
and got to know the business
inside out in the process. Most
importantly of all, it meant I
internalised the Stedek ethos – an
uncompromising commitment
to quality and customer service,
something my dad started, and
that we still honour today.
In 2018, it’s exactly the same as
the year Stedek was founded – if
a product isn’t good enough to go
in my house, it doesn’t leave the
factory.
Then, when I was 22, dad
took the decision to bring me
out of the factory and into the
office. For the first few years, it
followed much the same pattern
as my early days in the factory – I
started at the bottom, worked my
way up, learned about how the
business worked and so on.
But the difference between the
factory and the office is that in
the office you look at the business
much more strategically. That’s
what I found the most satisfying –
and it was during that period that
I started to think that, one day, I’d
like to run Stedek myself.
It was always dad’s plan
to retire eventually – and
once Richard had joined as
Sales Director, we had that
conversation. We started making
preparations for dad to step back,
and for myself and Richard to
take on more responsibility, to
make the transition as smooth as
possible.
10 » F EB 2019 » CL EARVI E W- UK . C O M
‘In my first five
years at Stedek, I
did every job in
the factory you
could possibly think
of. I didn’t get any
special treatment’
First and foremost, I think
Stedek’s key strength is its
obsessive attention to detail. We
never take shortcuts when our
customers’ reputations are on the
line. Whatever we do, positive or
negative, will reflect on them.
Rigorous QC checks take place
at every stage of production to
ensure the highest standards, and
everyone who works here has the
same message drilled into them
from the start – like I said earlier,
if it’s not good enough to go in
your own home, it’s not leaving
the factory.
To maintain that excellence,
we’re constantly investing in new
equipment, too. in the last couple
of years, we’ve spent over £300k
acquiring a Graf cutting centre,
Urban CNC machine, 12 Jade
end-millers, and a Graf welder. It’s
very much a case of investing for
perfection.
I also think we benefit hugely
from being a family business.
It means we’ve got access to
decades of knowledge and
expertise, but also the fresh ideas
and technological know-how that,
hopefully, the younger generation
are now bringing to the table.
www.stedek.co.uk