Meet Chris Phillips. Peters & May’s Warehouse and Site Operations Coordinator. When Chris says he has seen it all – no one questions it! After 30 years at Peters & May; Chris has worked in sea freight, air freight, forwarding, transport and of course the Warehouse.
Having experienced office moves, mergers, acquisitions and internal change through the years, we caught up with Chris to hear about his experience and see if we could draw out of him his secret to 30 years of success at Peters & May!
Have things changed over the last 30 years?
“A lot! It’s almost unrecognisable. I feel privileged to have watched and contributed to the company’s growth over the years. When I started here there were just a handful of us! Who would have thought back then that 30 years later I would still be here, and Peters & May would be a globally recognised leader in their field with 12 offices worldwide and over 100 employees!”
What are your highlights?
“It’s hard to choose after 30 years of memories here. A few stand out. In 1993/4 I was invited to Ocean Village with a few of the others from the office to meet Grant Dalton and the crew of New Zealand Endeavour to celebrate their win in the Whitbread Round the World Race (now known as the Volvo Ocean Race). A good time was had by all. That was certainly a ‘perk’ of the job. The other highlight must be the travel & high-profile projects I have worked on. I once transported a shipment of ammunition all the way to Oviedo in Northern Spain. Due to the nature of the shipment as dangerous goods, we were escorted by armed guards the entire way – it felt like something out of an action film.”
What are the biggest challenges in the Warehouse?
“Every day is different – which makes it difficult to plan. We often have to think on our feet as to how we carefully load cargo. A little while ago we had 5 Hov-Pods which needed loading into one 40ft container. We planned how we could carefully pack and lift the Hov-Pods to fit them in safely. We ended up lifting a couple of them into the roof void of the container above the others on the floor and securing them in position. It was a tight squeeze, but we got there in the end!”.
What is the most exciting project you have been involved with?
“Recently one of my favourites was the Automotive transport we did for Mitsubishi Motors – loading two bespoke Mitsubishi Trucks into containers. It certainly made my son very envious as he has always had his sights set on owning a Mitsubishi Warrior!”.
What do you enjoy most about your job?
“Variety – It’s the spice of life. It has certainly kept me interested in my job over the last 30 years. I also think you have got to be able to have a laugh and enjoy the team you are working in. I have been very lucky in that aspect, having a good team is half the battle”.
What has kept you at Peters & May for 30 years?
“It sounds a tad cliché but the people. Aside from that it’s the growth of the company. It is so refreshing seeing Peters & May prepared to grow and invest money in achieving its aim of becoming a world leader in bespoke logistics”.
Finally, what is your secret to 30 years of success?
“Dedication and loyalty – of course I have days when I am tearing my now grey hair out but throughout my career I have been committed to my role and Peters & May as a company”.
We want to thank Chris for his continued hard work over the last 30 years. Like a vintage wine – we think Chris has gotten even better with age! Set for retirement over the next few years; we are sure that Chris will be handing down his 30 years of experience before he embarks on the next stage of life - full of family time, and garden duties.
Interested to hear more from Peters & May?
