Pirtek Cork Demonstrates Commitment to Training

News release date: Saturday 7 February 2009

With a widening product and service portfolio and a growing customer base, Pirtek Cork continues to go from strength-to-strength, a fact that can be attributed to the company’s commitment to training.

Pirtek Cork, one of six hose centres delivering a rapid-response emergency on-site hose replacement service across Ireland, opened its doors in 1999. Almost a decade later and licensee Mike Cairney has seen turnover increase fourfold and the number of dedicated mobile service vehicles increase to five.
 

Committed to Training
There is little doubt that Pirtek’s growing product and service portfolio has expanded considerably in that time, a fact that is evidenced by the 25,000+ items contained in the company’s soon-to-be-published product catalogue. However, according to Cairney, the primary reason for his Centre’s ongoing success is his team’s ongoing commitment to training and staff development.

“From the very beginning, we recognised the importance of investing in our people” he says. “Whether it’s our mobile sales and service technicians (MSST) or our trade counter staff, our people are the public face of this business and it is vital that they are as highly trained and knowledgeable as possible.”

It is a policy that has clearly paid dividends. Pirtek Cork’s centre manager Tom Cummins was a finalist in Pirtek’s recent Centre Manager of the Year competition, Greg Cummins (not related) was runner-up in Pirtek’s Sales Manager of the Year competition, while MSST Cian Finn was runner-up in the company’s MSST of the Year competition, picking up a £1,000 cheque for his efforts. In addition, Pirtek Cork was cited by Pirtek for its ongoing investment in people. “Our recognition in the recent Pirtek awards justified our ongoing commitment to training,” Cairney continues. “I am incredibly proud of the commitment shown by the team here at Pirtek Cork.”
 

National Training Centre
Pirtek Cork’s commitment to training mirrors the continuing efforts of the company across its network of 90+ dedicated hose centres across the UK and Ireland. The company’s chief executive Kelvin Roberts recently opened a new National Training Centre in Birmingham with the sole aim of further increasing the knowledge base of the company’s licensees and their employees. “Training is the cornerstone of the success of the Pirtek business. With almost 100 Hose Service and Supply Centres and 400 mobile service units across the UK and Ireland, we have a substantial training requirement,” he says. “I am delighted to be opening this new National Training Centre which will take Pirtek’s training Department to a new level.”

Roberts’ excitement at the opening was echoed by Pirtek’s National Training Manager, Martyn Smart who will head up the new facility. “The new Training Centre has live, working plant and machinery for trainees to work on, providing valuable hands on experience,” Smart concludes. “We have been well supported by both our customers and our suppliers to enable the environment to be as realistic as possible”