20 Years in the Making
November 2016 marked our 20th anniversary as a company. Over the last 20 years, family run Littlewood Fencing has grown from strength to strength.
And while the business has certainly changed a lot since 1996, our core values and customer service definitely haven't.
Below are some statements and thoughts from Littlewood staff who have seen the company from its inception and have been instrumental in making it what it is today, one of the UK's largest fencing contractors.
Jon Hobden (Managing Director)
"I’m really proud of the success of our business. The 20th anniversary has made me reflect on how far the business has come in the last 20 years and the reasons behind it.
The business has a great team of employees, we are some of the best in the industry, we are prepared to go that extra mile and all play a massive part in our success. We have robust management processes and procedures that help put us at the forefront of the fencing industry with regards to Health, Safety, Environment and Quality control, playing a large part in successful project completion and customer satisfaction.
Our client and project list prove testament to our success, we have worked and are working on some of the most prestigious projects in the UK, if not Europe, and work with the majority of the biggest and best construction companies in the UK.
The future holds exciting prospects for us all, there are some great opportunities for Littlewood and we are well placed to go from strength to strength over the coming years. We have come a long way since the small office off the back of Mum and Dads kitchen!"
Paul Hobden (Director/Traditionals) and Gill Hobden (Director/Accounts)
Paul
"When myself and Dad started Littlewood Fencing in 1996 we took over from a firm that went into liquidation. We had to move all the stock to Dad’s farm (Littlewood Farm hence the business name) and had lots of articulated lorries turning up with old and new stock, totally under estimating the size of the lorries and how to unload them. This was the start of many learning curves.
We progressed in the first year with Mum & Nick (middle brother) joining us, which allowed more time for me to concentrate on quoting and running the works. We continued to grow, with my eldest brother Jon joining us in 1999, who became Managing Director in 2005. Graham Jackson joined us in 2001 who became a director of Littlewood the following year.
Over the years I've seen Littlewood Fencing change so much, moving yards twice, Dad retiring in 2006 and Mum retiring Christmas 2016. But at the heart of everything we do the same principles and core values have always been my main focus:- Customer commitment - health and safety, making sure all our employees work safely in a safe environment, investment in training, quality installation, best value, and a pro-active can do attitude."
Gill
“Who would have thought 20 years on, starting in a room off of my kitchen in November 1996 to our offices in North Trade Road today? From our small room, we went to a port-a-cabin on our farm, because the business grew so quickly we had to find other premises. We found a yard in Bodle Street Green, unfortunately, the Council would only allow us to store the wood there so our search started again.
In March 1999 we found Willie Woodpeckers Yard, absolutely ideal for the time, unfortunately, the council started putting different clauses on the premises making it very difficult to work from there.
When we heard Anglian Timber were wanting to sell their premises in 2003 we had to take this opportunity, a massive step but one we couldn’t afford to miss. The property needed to have the main building changed into offices. By February 2004 we moved our offices from Willie Woodpeckers up to North Trade Road where we are today, thankfully we have been able to increase our office size by the same again making it an ideal site.”
Dominique Stevenson (Personal Assistant to the MD)
“I first started working for Littlewood Fencing in May 2003 as Jon Hobden’s PA. The office was then situated in Willie Woodpeckers Yard. I worked closely with all the family to do the sales and marketing, health and safety and general compliance. At that time we had about 50 members of staff, so my role had to combine several different areas. I learned a great deal about how the business operated and it was good to be a part of the development of that. Littlewood Fencing took over Anglian Timber and moved to a bigger yard in 2003, which was very exciting times as the company was growing from strength to strength.
In 2005 Jon Hobden became Managing Director, which meant that I was now the PA to the Managing Director of the company. The company was growing at quite a rate now and as a result, we had to employ a compliance department in order to achieve the many accreditations that we now have in place that has enabled us to work on bigger projects and grow further.
To this date, Littlewood Fencing now employs in excess of 160 employees and has several different sectors, which puts them in a strong position to be able to facilitate fencing on a sizeable scale. Littlewood Fencing now has an office in Wales and a presence in the Midlands. The employees are located in many different areas of the country, so we now are pretty much nationwide.
In summary, the company has grown rapidly and I have witnessed some amazing changes in my 13 years with the company. I have found it exciting to be a part of such a developmental business and believe it will have many more years of success.”