NEWS
WORDS : DAVE ROBSON
Sister act drives coach firm forward
At the wheel – Sisters Nicky Nicholls and Louise Radwan .
Don ’ t be surprised to see sisters Nicky Nicholls and Louise Radwan behind the wheel of a Coatham Coaches vehicle .
For while their roles at the family firm are largely behind the scenes – Nicky is general manager while Louise is transport manager – they can step in to drive whenever necessary .
Before joining the firm , which was begun by their parents , Mike and Barbara Hodgson , in 1980 , and where brother Mark is MD , Nicky and Louise followed different career paths .
Nicky spent 11 years as a Royal Navy aircraft engineer before doing various jobs and moving into education – and it was while she was doing a teaching degree that dad Mike persuaded her to join the firm .
Louise , however , completed 28 years in local government , largely working for Hambleton District Council in community leisure and sports development . But , like Nicky , the call to join the family business was too tempting , especially as she already had a transport manager ’ s licence , having attended night school with Barbara to achieve it .
Now Nicky and Louise juggle a multitude of tasks at Coatham Coaches – one of the North-East ’ s most trusted private hire car and coach companies , with its modern fleet of 45 vehicles ranging from private hire cars to state-of-the-art electric coaches .
Nicky says her role is “ mainly logistical - making sure everyone knows where they ’ re going , what they ’ re doing , answering the phone , recording quotes – a bit of everything really !” And as transport manager , Louise generally deals with such issues as compliance , HR and health and safety .
Coatham Coaches has seven women among its 48-strong workforce at the moment – but the sisters would be happy to see more , both with the Margrove Parkbased firm and in the industry as a whole .
“ It would be great to see more women consider the coach industry as a career , with opportunities in multiple roles such as marketing , accounts , engineering and driving , we have a huge amount to offer !”
For more about Coatham Coaches , visit coathamcoaches . co . uk
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