Way back in 2012, when Stiltz Homelifts was just a fledgling company, it took on its first employee, a young man called Jack Davies. Twenty years old and straight out of college, he joined the two co-founders, Lachlan Faulkner and Cameron Gillespie, as a trainee domestic lift installer. Fast forward a decade, and Jack is heading up his own technical support team and celebrating ten years with the home lifts manufacturer. We look back over his time with Stiltz Homelifts – from start-up to the success story.
Jack recalls his first official day with the company at their Wokingham office. It was not the most auspicious of starts! “My first ever home lift installation was in Scotland, meaning I had to arrive at work at about three in the morning, where I loaded up the old pick-truck with a domestic lift wrapped in a tarpaulin. We had to stop several times en route to fill up the radiator with fluid. It was that ropey! How things have changed!”
Back then, it was just a double garage and three people. Now Stiltz Homelifts is a 50+ million turnover company, exporting to more than 40 countries. It is on the FT1000 Europe’s Fastest Growing Companies 2022 list and is the proud holder of the Queen’s Award for Enterprise. Jack has been there every step of the way.
Being at the forefront of domestic lifts installations over the years, Jack’s been privileged to meet our customers in their homes. He gets just how important they are. “Our prime demographic tends to be older people who need a trustworthy service. The reason they’re getting a through floor lift is because they can’t access upstairs, and it’s a fantastic feeling to be able to help them.”
Jack began his career training with Cameron, who was one of the Directors at the time. He describes how much he learned working alongside Cam and as the home lift company progressed, he progressed with it. After a few years, Jack became a lead installer and helped train up the growing ranks of domestic lift installers joining Stiltz Homelifts. Recently he has been promoted to the technical support team, where he is helping diagnose issues in the field and remotely. He admits he does miss full-time customer interaction but really enjoys helping the newer employees and passing on his knowledge.
And what would he say to anyone thinking of joining Stiltz Homelifts? “It’s a very good opportunity,” he explains. “You get looked after really well. I’ve been with the company ten years which is obviously testimony to how good the business is, and hopefully, I’ll continue to grow with it.”
Mike Lord, CEO of Stiltz Homelifts, handed over a long-service cheque and achievement certificate to Jack and talked about what it means to the domestic lift company to have such a longstanding employee. “It’s really important for any business to have established staff, and the only other person who has been here longer is Lachlan, the co-founder. So, to have reached this milestone when in the first couple of years there were only two employees is just fantastic. His success story isn’t just that he’s been here a while; it’s that he’s progressed through the business. He started when he was young and inexperienced and has grown into fulfilling a full-on tech support role. And that’s important for us. We’ve expanded dramatically over the last few years, and we need more team members like Jack for the future.”
A great indicator of a healthy business, asides from its financial figures, is to check out how it values its workforce. Are they happy, fulfilled, and able to see opportunities within the organisation? Hardworking employees are invaluable, and Jack has proved that every day for a decade. Thanks, Jack. Here’s to the next ten years!