Arco’s new chief executive has given his initial take on life at the helm of one of Hull’s strongest businesses.
Guy Bruce joined the safety products and services provider in December, and as the results were released for the last full year before he came on board, he gave his ‘90 day report’.
The business saw turnover drop 21 per cent from an exceptional £390 million in a Covid-accelerated ‘anomaly’ year, to £307 million for the period to June 30, 2022. Sales remained higher than pre-pandemic, though profits were squeezed by the economic situation, elements of which are now easing, as it also works with customers to minimise the impact of inflation.
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Mr Bruce, appointed following the retirement of managing director David Evison, arrived from Equans, having previously held senior roles with Sheffield-headquartered specialist building materials distributor SIG Plc.
He said: “The legacy of the business is what attracted me, and something I discussed at length when considering the opportunity.
“There is a real sense of making decisions for the long term, it is passionate about the industry, passionate about its people and passionate about the region. It is a fantastic opportunity, and a great responsibility to take over as we transition from family-owned and family-run to family-owned.
“Now, 90 days in, I see what I found when I did my own due diligence. I see a business with that legacy and a business that there is no-one in the market like. It is clearly a trusted partner, and that’s not my assessment, people have played that back to me; the biggest suppliers, the largest customers; they tell me it is the trusted expert in the country, and that’s a fantastic marker for the business.”
Delighted with the engagement from the team he said the “enthusiasm is great for what we can do in the next 10 years”.
And that depth of vision is very welcome. “This is a unique role, which is why I took it on. I discussed with the board at length, taking over a business, and reaffirming what the next 10 years look like - it is a unique proposition. A lot of businesses, particularly those that are listed, review for the short term. That is not for here, the board and shareholder community fundamentally believe in the business. There has been tremendous investment, tens of millions of pounds in recent years.
“The Hull headquarters, the national distribution centre expansion, and coming to that head office, meeting people and bringing in new people to that building, it is impressive, and is a great statement for Hull and the several hundred people working there.”
A comprehensive review is now underway, to ensure the business is “once again well positioned for long-term sustainable growth”.
Acquisition and diversification feature, so too building on the product and services pillars in safety. Mr Bruce said: “Areas of particular focus include the acceleration of digitisation, product innovation and the expansion of our service offering, together with targeted, accretive expansion into new segments where we’ll look at both organic and inorganic opportunities to do so.
“Our renewed focus on service and efficiency, enterprise wide, will act as a key enabler to delivering sector-leading customer experience.”
Diving deeper, he said: “The product business,everyone knows, but less well known is the services business. We will focus on both, they have a lot to offer, and together they offer a unique solution. We see the opportunity to significantly grow the safety services as part of that strategy.
"There are more areas we are looking at, with two to three routes to market, inviting people in, delivering on clients’ sites and virtual training, all have opportunities to grow.”
Arco Professional Safety Services provides consultancy, training, services and equipment to manage the most complex and high-risk, high hazard scenarios, specialising in working at height, confined space and respiratory management. It recently opened its fifth specialist centre in Bracknell, Berkshire, following a multi-million-pound investment, expanding its reach in the south of England and broadening its customer base.
Alongside that the employer of 1,600 now distributes 170,000 quality assured items, including personal protective equipment, workwear, safety footwear, gloves, workplace safety and hygiene products. Part of the prominent national distribution centre by the A63 features laboratories to test to international standards to ensure product compliance. During the Covid outbreak it produced advisory papers highlighted in Westminster as failings in government made national headlines.
“We are looking not only at how we optimise distribution, but optimise other value-added elements,” Mr Bruce said. On the integrity element, he added: “The business has a legacy of that, and it has manifested and is represented in the best way. Throughout Covid decisions were made not to monetise the situation, but to do the right thing. It is something the business can be really proud of.”
And while demand scale that saw planes chartered by Arco to bring product into the country as the pandemic peaked has dwindled, so too are manufacturing hold-ups that followed, impacting across industries.
“The supply chain issue is dissipating, we are seeing lead times shrink, availability increase, we will capture these opportunities and make best use of them,” Mr Bruce added.
He is now focused on the update on the strategy, anticipated in the coming months, as it further enhances profitability, efficiency and market relevance.
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