Angus is Hi-Level’s Managing Director. He joined the company in 2020 after a career first in the British military, then working in logistics for DHL for 15 years and latterly in security. Looking for a new challenge, he heard about Hi-Level Mezzanines and immediately knew he’d found his perfect job. “I wanted a company that had ambitions to grow and wasn’t a big corporate monolith. Somewhere I could add value with my skills and experience,” Angus says. “I’m just delighted to work with a company that’s such a leader in its field.”
A Royal appointment
Shaking hands with the King at Windsor Castle isn’t exactly a typical day in Angus’s life, but it has certainly been one of the highlights of his time at Hi-Level. The occasion was this July, when on behalf of the company as a proud winner of the King’s Award for Enterprise, the world’s most prestigious business award, Angus met His Majesty during a champagne reception in glittering St George’s Hall.
Hi-Level was awarded the King’s Award for Enterprise in Innovation in April, on the King’s official birthday, and Angus was invited to join other business leaders at the spectacular Windsor Castle event in the summer.
“It was an exciting day with lots of apprehension about protocol, but an absolute honour to shake hands with His Majesty the King,” Angus says. He was impressed at the care His Majesty took to ask about Hi-Level. “He was very interested in our performance and was delighted to hear that we are supplying mezzanine floors to the whole of the UK.”
What’s more, the event brought home the magnitude of Hi-Level’s achievement in attaining an award that is usually won by companies with hundreds (if not thousands) of staff – Hi-Level has around 25. “It was fascinating and I felt privileged to represent the company in an environment that none of us would ever normally visit. I suddenly realised how as a small company we are massively punching above our weight,” Angus says.
The King’s Award for Enterprise celebrations will continue next month when the Lord Lieutenant and Deputy Lord Lieutenant of Hampshire come to Hi-Level’s headquarters to present the company with an Innovation trophy.
Always improving
On a more typical day, Angus’s first move in the morning will be to walk around for 10 or 15 minutes, talking to everyone, finding out what people are up to, dealing with any problems . “The company is successful and I work with the Team to ensure that it continues to grow. I try to focus on the bigger projects because they tend to come with the bigger challenges,” he says.
“I could be talking about IT one minute, then quality and health and safety the next, as well as keeping a strategic overview. We are in a competitive marketplace and we are always looking at how we can improve, be it through innovation or on sustainability.”
Angus has two priorities: the staff and the customers. When it comes to staff, he is taking a lead in recruitment as the business expands: “I want to employ the best people we can.” Under his watch Hi-Level has become an Employee Ownership Trust (EOT). “With all employees being more invested in the company, suppliers and customers find us driven to improve our product range and offer the best service levels we can,” he says.
Another element of Angus’s day is just this, leading Hi-Level in making the world a better place. This can be through diversity in the workplace and also sustainability, with a programme underway to monitor then reduce Hi-Level’s carbon footprint. “My job is to support the day-to-day but also to craft a journey to the future and ESG is an important part of that,” he says.
Looking ahead
When it comes to customers, Hi-Level is already working with exciting brands but Angus is ambitious to do more: “The challenge is good to great. We’ve got a good company and we’re on the road to making it great by adding to what’s already working effectively. We make the best mezzanines in the market and our ambition is to work with more companies and help them grow.
He adds: “When I visit a project, I’m proud that we do great work for these dynamic brands, from Amazon to Next to ASOS. The quality and the craftsmanship involved in the mezzanines we design and install is as good as it gets.”
Hi-Level Mezzanines
Hi-Level Mezzanines provides mezzanine floors of the highest quality in the industry, yet remaining competitively priced thanks to the expertise of our team of qualified structural engineers, innovative digital design process and advanced solutions.
For 30 years we have been creating space for amazing things to happen. Contact us today for more information at [email protected] or call 01730 237 190.
