A-Plant is celebrating the career of fitter, Brian Symcox after he notched up 50 years with the company supporting customers and colleagues.<\/p>\n
Brian, aged 72, was presented with a Lifetime Achievement Award after working as a fitter for the last five decades based at A-Plant\u2019s depot in Derby.<\/p>\n
Brian\u2019s celebrations coincide with another major milestone, as A-Plant transitions to officially become Sunbelt Rentals from June 1st 2020.<\/p>\n
When Brian started working as an apprentice in 1970 there was no electric machinery and he was paid \u2018Five Bob\u2019 a week \u2013 the equivalent of 25 pence.<\/p>\n
He progressed from being a depot-based fitter to becoming a mobile, on-site fitter responsible for managing the maintenance of equipment including main plant such as dumpers, excavators and rollers.<\/p>\n
In the last few years, he returned to the main depot and supports the training of young apprentices, teaching them the basics of maintenance and repairs.<\/p>\n
Brian explained: <\/strong>\u201cIn the 1970\u2019s there was no electric machinery, it was all wind-up machinery.<\/p>\n \u201cThis progressed to battery and now it\u2019s key-coded start-up. Machinery is now a lot easier to use, as technology has advanced there is more flexibility.\u201d<\/p>\n Well-liked and known to his colleagues as Tommy-Brian, he originally began working for a company called Keyplant, which was acquired by the Ashtead Group in 1987.<\/p>\n Most of his colleagues from that time have already retired and in September 2019, Brian reduced his hours to three days a week.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/strong>Brian, who has had six managers during the last 50 years, added: <\/strong>\u201cI am really pleased to be celebrating 50 years and I will just carry on and keep going while I\u2019m fit and well.<\/p>\n \u201cI have no plans for retirement just yet and am not sure what I might do when I have to retire.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s great to see A-Plant striving to be better. I\u2019m looking forward to getting my new uniform when we become Sunbelt Rentals.\u201d<\/p>\n Chris Hanley, Service Centre Manager, explains:<\/strong> \u201cWe are delighted to join Brian in celebrating his 50 years with A-Plant, it is a truly commendable achievement.<\/p>\n \u201cBrian has a wealth of knowledge and experience to share and he\u2019s a good teacher. The apprentices really appreciate and value his skills and experience and over the years he must have mentored quite a few apprentices.\u201d<\/p>\n Brian lives locally and is married with one daughter and three grandchildren.<\/p>\n Outside of work, he has a keen interest in birds and spends his free time enjoying his hobby and taking holidays to Skegness.<\/p>\n https:\/\/www.aplant.com\/<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"