Month: October 2021

TMD Friction creates new Environment, Health and Safety team

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THREE new appointments have been made to form a new dedicated Environment, Health and Safety team at TMD Friction in Hartlepool.

The team is spearheaded by manager Shaun Wilson, who joins the global automotive manufacturer from Caterpillar in Peterlee.

He was brought in to drive forward TMD Friction’s commitment to creating a safe and healthy environment for staff and to reduce the number of accidents on site which lead to lost time on the production line.

Shaun was also given the opportunity to cherry pick his own support, which led to the appointments of Rob Nicholson, whom Shaun worked with at Caterpillar, and Leanne Jones, who brings with her a wealth of industry experience and knowledge, having previously worked at KP Snacks.

The team will also support TMD Friction’s sites across the UK.

Shaun said: “I was brought into the business because TMD Friction wanted its UK sites to go on a journey across the health and safety spectrum. They wanted to create a team dedicated to this area, that could engage the workforce and ultimately make the plants a safer place to work for everyone.

“What we have initially focussed on is speaking with all teams within the business to get them bought into our aims and objectives. It really is about ownership and although my team is leading on this, we need the buy-in of everyone to achieve what we want to.

“We have also developed a three-year strategy, looking at preventing accidents through risk reduction with our main focus on critical life risks such as work at height, lock out tag out and mobile equipment and pedestrian interaction. Our slogan is ‘Say No To Risk’ and we want everyone to understand this – if any member of staff sees risk anywhere we want them to speak up.”

Since the team was launched, they have already reduced accidents across the Oakesway Industrial Estate plant by 29 per cent and cut the number of accidents which resulted in lost time from four to one.

TMD Friction manufactures brake pads for 95 per cent of the models of Europe’s aftermarket, including emergency services vehicles and many of the major distribution small trucks and vans.

The past 18 months have seen 52 new products introduced at Hartlepool and two new flagship customers added to TMD Friction’s portfolio of automotive manufacturers.

The company’s other UK sites in Elvington, Warrington and Cleckheaton have also benefited from investment to support operations at Hartlepool.

Tom Russell, UK Operations Manager, said: “Environment, Health and Safety has always been at the front and centre of everything we do at TMD Friction, however with the appointment of a dedicated team led by Shaun Wilson, we feel that we’re very much building for the future, our continued growth here in Hartlepool and working towards an accident-free site.

“We want every member of the team to feel completely safe when they come to work, but also feel confident enough to speak up if there is something they aren’t comfortable with. Because, ultimately, the safer the plant is the more productive we are and the happier our staff are when they come to work.”

Delanoy Funeral Services celebrate successful first year in business

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A FUNERAL services company which launched during the coronavirus pandemic has marked the end of its first year in business with significant investment in a new Jaguar fleet of hearses.

John Delanoy and Julie Stout have also achieved their pledge to reinvest all money made during the first 12 months of running Delanoy Funeral Services back into the community.

The two East Durham entrepreneurs launched their business in August 2020 after being introduced by a mutual friend.

Although from very different backgrounds, John being the fifth generation of Delanoys to work for his family funeral business and Julie running her own successful company, Just Out Marketing, they felt there was potential to go into partnership together.

After several meetings to discuss their ideas, the pair decided that together they could revolutionise the way funerals were conducted, making a real difference to the experience families have as they prepare to lay their loved ones to rest – including the production of beautifully filmed and edited videos of the funeral, giving families a permanent and treasured keep-sake.

Julie said: “It’s hard to believe how quickly – and how well – the first year of running Delanoy Funeral Services has gone.

“At the start, we were determined that during our first year, any money we made would be re-invested back into the business, as we really wanted our business to be at the heart of the East Durham community.

“I’m so pleased to say we’ve achieved that. We’ve moved into a new head office in Peterlee, we’ve been able to invest in state-of-the-art editing equipment to enable us to produce even more emotive, high quality videos for those families that want them, and purchase a fleet including Jaguar hearses and limousines.

“We’re now looking ahead to the next 12 months and beyond and continuing to conduct individually tailored funerals for families across the area, giving their loved ones the send off they want and deserve.”

A lot of John and Julie’s ideas for the business came about during the peak of the pandemic, when so many people were unable to attend family members’ funerals. It also co-incided with a time when John was reviewing his own family business, which was launched in 1897, and was keen to freshen things up.

John, who has worked in the funeral business since the age of 16, said: “My family’s business was fully established in the area, however I felt it needed a fresh injection and new ideas, especially given the challenges that Covid-19 was presenting. The introduction to Julie came at the perfect time.

“With her fresh eyes and the re-brand to Delanoy Funeral Services, we looked at new ways for people to say goodbye whilst still using many old traditions which were at the heart of the business.

“We’re 14 months down the line now and it’s been a whirlwind year, not least because of the coronavirus pandemic which until very recently was still restricting the way we all lived and worked.

“But now we’re looking forward to continuing with our growth, supported by the investment Julie and I have made in the new hearse which means we can support even more families as they prepare to say their final farewell to loved ones.”