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New General Manager Strengthens Stertil Stokvis Loading Bay Division
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Stertil Stokvis has appointed Andrew Georgiou as General Manager of its Loading Bay Division.
Andrew has previously worked for one of the company’s competitors and has over eighteen years of experience in the loading bay equipment industry. His new role at Stertil Stokvis provides him with the chance to build on the company’s past achievements and he’s looking forward to the challenges ahead: “Stertil Stokvis has an enviable reputation for high quality products with innovative design features. I’m fortunate to be joining a market-leading company with many successes under its belt, but I’m certainly not complacent. Modern business is constantly changing and to meet the challenges it throws up, a company must be constantly striving to improve and move forward. I intend to build on the strong foundation at Stertil Stokvis and ensure that we are ready to meet those challenges.”
Stertil Stokvis has always emphasised the importance of manufacturing quality and Andrew Georgiou believes this is more crucial than ever: “The requirements placed on loading bays and dock levellers are greater than ever before and so it is vitally important for equipment to be robust, reliable and safe. We see many suppliers reduce their manufacturing costs and hence their prices by compromising the quality of their equipment and that’s something that Stertil Stokvis will never do.”
Stertil Stokvis is increasingly asked to replace equipment from other suppliers which is not up to the job. Dock levellers can be particularly vulnerable with broken welds, damaged lips and hinges and dished platform tops just a few examples of the problems encountered. Stertil Stokvis’s own dock levellers are manufactured from high-tensile steel for strength; platform tops are made in a single piece so as to eliminate weak spots; and increased weld contact makes lips and hinges more robust.
Always forward-looking, Stertil Stokvis has launched a brand new range of dock levellers to the market, including the first ever parallel-lip model which eliminates the problems associated with lip crown angles and hence improves health and safety for users. The new models were over two years in design and required an investment in production facilities of more than ?1 million. Extreme testing at prototype stages means that by the time a new model gets to production, Stertil Stokvis is confident enough of its quality to be the only company to provide a lifetime guarantee for its open-hinge lip system.
“The most important thing in this and many other industries is to delight your customer,” says Andrew Georgiou. “I have two rules: work hard and keep your promises, on time. These rules may be simple, but I believe they should still be the basis of doing business.”
Stertil Stokvis is a market leader with over 40 years’ experience in loading bays and dock areas. A comprehensive range of products includes inflatable shelters and dockseals; wheel guides; mobile yard ramps; dock bumpers and vehicle restraint systems, as well as both mechanically- and hydraulically-operated dock levellers. Stertil Stokvis was the first company in the industry to implement ISO9001 quality systems, SafeContractor health & safety systems and, in February 2007, became the first in the industry to achieve the ‘green credentials’ standard of ISO14001 for environmental management systems. During this process, the company has significantly reduced its energy consumption and reduced its landfill waste by 50%.
