Thirty years on, the values Pam Allan brought to a kitchen table in Brampton still run through North West Recycling.
Before the wagons and the processing lines, before the Rockcliffe site and the 133 -strong workforce, there was a kitchen table in Brampton and a woman answering the phone.
When Rick Allan founded what was then Brampton Skip Hire thirty years ago, it was a true family enterprise – Rick juggled between delivering skips and milking cows, his dad Roy loved delivering skips and meeting new people and his mum Pam held it all together from the farmhouse answering the phones. “Without Mum on the phones, we wouldn’t have been able to cope” recalls Rick.
Courage in business rarely comes from one person alone. At North West Recycling (NWR), it came from all three – and their courage to start at all, with a second-hand skip trailer on the back of a Subaru pickup and a farmyard and no guarantee of what lay ahead, was a family decision.
“I just want people to say they were great to deal with,” says Rick. That one line explains more about how the business has endured for thirty years than anything else.
To mark thirty years, NWR has commissioned a commemorative wagon – a tribute to the journey from that Brampton farmyard to one of the largest independent waste management operations in the UK. It is a fitting symbol of how far the business has come, and a reminder of everyone who helped build it. “I am immensely proud of NWR and so thankful to all the people that helped along the way,” Pam says.
The NWR thirty-year celebrations have been continuing at the annual summer party, hosted by Rick at his home. This year carried an extra moment of meaning when Will Ball, Yard Supervisor, was honored for twenty-two years of service, “Will can turn his hand to any job required out on the yard and is one of the most helpful and kind individuals I have ever worked with” Rick said.
The celebrations are reaching further into the community with Spot our Skip to Win – a competition running throughout August where a branded anniversary skip appears at mystery locations across the region, supported by loyal NWR customers who have generously contributed locations and towards the weekly prizes. Spot It, Snap It and enter online for the chance to win a different £100 voucher each week, with a grand finale prize to close.
Thirty years is a long time in any industry. In waste management, where the pace of change has never been greater, it is remarkable. But then, remarkable things tend to happen when the foundations are right.
A version of this article appeared in August’s edition of In Cumbria Magazine. Read here.
A version of this article appeared in August’s edition of In Cumbria Magazine. Read here.
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