Hear from our wonderful new members to our ABL family…
Tony Gollop – October 2021
(Team Leader of Finishing/Grinding Section)
Induction with ABL:
Q: Why did you join ABL?
A: I was employed by ABL previously from 2010 to 2016 after completing an apprenticeship with Westwind; I moved to Westwind and was trained in grinding and actually reported to Adrian Fripp at the time, who is now the production supervisor at ABL.
Q: So what about your progression with the company?
A: I firstly joined ABL as a Machine Operator and was mentored to do setups and programming on the CNC Myfords and then progressed onto CNC Studer’s; I wanted to learn more products, so I raised this to my Supervisor and then ended up going around the departments and moved onto different machines. Over my 6 years I learnt to program, set and operate, working with a majority of the same team as I am today!
The company was then going through some changes and I was offered the opportunity to apply for the Team Leader position in which I was successful, I did this role for over 8 months, however after being with the company for 6 years and progressing, I wanted to learn some new skills and develop my machining capability outside of ABL.
Q: Why did you come back to ABL?
A: Jason Freshwater (Supply Chain Manager) approached me; the company was going through changes and had invested in new Studer machines, so I knew I could learn new machining equipment and not just be a team-leader away from the machines, I could develop my machining and management skills in parallel.
Q: What do you enjoy about your role with ABL?
A: I enjoy being team leader, it’s a good role for future progression. The variety in work is great and I have been involved with multiple challenges some days i.e. helping operators, problem solving with colleagues, supporting apprentices with their coursework and working with HR on matters; this has helped my development and just enabled me to be exposed to different areas of the company.
Q: What has been refreshing to you coming from other employers?
A: We are kept in the loop as a company on where we are going; we know what business targets we have per month and receive relevant information from the operational management.
ABL Culture:
Q: What do you like most about working with ABL?
A: Feel respected by my team and we feel like part of a team here; any problems we face, we support each-other and work collectively.
Q: What makes ABL a good place to work?
A: The People. Also the balance between respect and work-life balance. The management team are also friendly and I feel I can go to my manager and Darren Fay with anything, they are approachable.
Q: What makes ABL a competitive employer to work for?
A: The overall benefits are great; we have a competitive pension, we received a cost of living increase rise in April 2022 and we work a 4-day week- overall really good benefits that suit me.
Q: How would you describe the culture here at ABL?
A: Fun, comical and lighthearted. The people are polite and treat everyone with respect; there is 100% a team and family ethos
Q: Best highlights for you since being with ABL?
A: For me it was the Christmas hamper given to all employees’ I had been here for around 2/3 months and the company just showed respect to new starters which was really welcoming; we were all given a hamper and a Christmas bonus and this really wasn’t expected as new starter. We also receive small rewards unexpectedly, such as free cakes (regularly!).