Interview with the Managing Director

A Beginning to a New Year A Look into the Year Ahead with KTR U.K. Recently we sat down with Mr. Geoff Ancliff, the Managing Director of KTR U.K., and asked him some questions to get a better feeling of this year’s direction and goals for the company in 2019. He also spoke about 2018 and some of the goals we had achieved. How did you spend your holidays? My holiday over Christmas was mainly spent with family, with the kids and grandkids, just appreciating watching the kids and all the joys of Christmas. It was a great time to recharge the batteries and prepare for another year. Christmas is a time to reflect not only on the time of year but also look back at the last twelve months and analyse what, if anything, could have been changed to have made it better. This goes for personal as well as work life. How was 2018 for KTR U.K.? It was a fantastic year, we broke all records regarding sales etc. It was a year of growth not only for the organisation but the people within the organisation. The KTR Group also performed at its best in its sixty years of existence. We added new members to staff within the UK, and we had one person retire who KTR U.K. will miss as a business as well as having around the office. The team at last found its own independence and were starting to challenge themselves and their peers. What was the most exciting moment for the business in 2018? It would have to have been December the 15th, when we beat the target we had set for ourselves, which was above the company budget. It was an incredible achievement and one we are very proud of because of all the hard work from the team throughout the year. Socially we also had a great year. We spent time as a group at Doncaster Races in August where we had a private box. That was a great event and an exciting time not only for the members of the staff but for all their partners as well. But the best part about working in KTR U.K. is that everyday is a great day coming into the office. You get to come in, set goals for yourself and for the company, and try to reach them. It is like coming to work with your mates, we have a great atmosphere that runs throughout the company and this is the most enjoyable aspect. Going forward into 2019, what are some of your expectations? We are always looking for double digit growth, and growth in general. We are working with some great companies. We are seeing a massive growth for Coolers in the U.K., and we have been working with large blue-chip organisations to try and develop this range of products. We also expect, that hopefully, pre-official and post-official Brexit, that it will not change the status quo on what we are doing at the minute. Most of the organisations we trade with are predicting growth in 2019, which is very reassuring for us. Do you have any goals for KTR U.K. in 2019? This year is, again, going to be another big year for us. One of the things we are trying to do is grow the distribution business, which is why we took on a new sales member of staff to focus on this important market. Our OEM business is traditionally very good, but we must adapt to the trends within the market place thus the focus will be on the distribution market. One important goal is to reassure our customers and partners that KTR are ready for Brexit and that we will continue to support them as we do now. What do you feel is KTR U.K. strongest assets? We have an excellent team here in the office, everybody comes in and knows what they are doing, they don’t need managing. I think the knowledge that we have here, the willingness to do something and go the extra mile is what separates us from the others. I am very lucky to have so many good people around me, and it shows in the growth and success of the company. Is there anything you look to improve for 2018? We look to improve our customer service experience by hiring extra staff, to expand our service and satisfy all the needs of our customers. We are also investing in new technologies, and new phone services to have clients get the answers they need as easy and quickly as possible. What are your top priorities for KTR U.K. in 2019? First one is to hit the budget, doesn’t matter what happened last year, we start from 0 again now, and need to reach the new goals we set for ourselves. I think we also need to develop new markets and new products within all markets. We are always trying to improve the skills of our employees by helping them with different educational courses and training, to make them better. Everyone fears that when your employees are getting stronger and more educated that you may lose them to the competitors, but that is a chance you must take. You can’t hold them back, and for me I would rather see my staff succeed in whatever they can than to hold them back. If you give them the tools to be more professional, it only makes KTR U.K. more professional. But most importantly, is to laugh, smile, because there is no point in coming into work miserable. We like to keep things light, but at the same time we work hard at what we do and are passionate about what we do. I am very proud of my team and look forward to what we hope will be a very successful 2019! We at KTR U.K. are very excited for this upcoming year. We work hard to satisfy our customers, and we hope to persuade more clients to come and experience our great products. We are always available to help and do our best to answer any customer questions that come our way. We want to thank all our current customers and cannot wait to work with them again in what should be an exciting 2019.

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