Making the Vision come to Life - A Perspective from our new Head of Operations – Tony Weston

Since joining Bensons at the end of April, a lot of my time has been focused on learning the systems and the basics of what we do.

Learning everyone’s name was a challenge too, thankfully there are a lot of Paul’s and Mark’s so that made the task a little easier! Everyone has been really welcoming and generous with their time, I have really appreciated this, as although I have an amount of electrical background, my knowledge specifically on control panels was limited.

One of the things that has really struck me is the skill-base right across the company. We have estimators, designers and engineers, all who have worked for Bensons for decades, they bring an expertise that I have never seen anywhere else.

It may look like wiring a panel is something straight forward and simplistic because a CAD drawing instructs where each end of a wire goes. However, this is not as straightforward as it sounds – it’s not just about where the wires go - there is a certain skill in making a high-quality panel that is both reliable and consistent.

One of my first tasks was to recruit a new member of the Prep Team and we are pleased to see Leon join us. I have also spent time with the Design Team as we evaluate how to utilise different methodology with CAD, plus acclimatised myself with customers and suppliers.

Looking to the summer, we have some large projects coming in and I am keen to explore how we manufacture these and evaluate the impact that potential investment could bring in some efficiencies and improved productivity. Bensons does many things great, and I am enjoying being involved again in manufacturing at this level of quality and performance.