Steve Hutin

20 years of ownership of a business that has grown from a single lifting and rigging facility to twelve national depots, including one engineering services site. Beyond that, I have been in the industry for over 32 years. My three biggest strengths are: communication, an ability to listen, and a willingness to always support the team. It has been a steep learning curve; when I started, I thought I had all the experience I needed, but when you’re spending your own money, and start making decisions on sales, marketing and everything else, it quickly becomes apparent how much more there is to learn. It’s been a combination of accumulating experience, learning from mistakes, educating myself—and an element of good fortune along the way. It has been a longtime ambition to captain a truly national lifting and rigging gear business that remains true to its principles and resists temptation to dilute the offering and expertise by providing tool or plant hire services. Much of our success is attributable to our ability to serve local customers, shifting fast-moving, low capacity rigging equipment, whilst working in the long-term to position the business to serve blue chip customers and mega-size projects. However, none of it would have been possible without our people and a lot of our success is owed to the fabulous team we have been lucky enough to assemble along the way. Naturally, my leadership role requires me to oversee all facets of a company that has been in a constant phase of exponential growth. It is a hallmark of my management that I maintain personal relationships with all staff, from depot managers to those conducting site services, working in offices, and others manufacturing our slings. However, over time, I have had to better master the art of delegation as the workforce exceeded 100 employees. My advice to anyone getting started on a similar career path is don’t get too excited when things are good, but don’t get too down when things are tough. This is how business works. The company is synonymous with service—and that won’t change.