Focus on Foster Special 50th Anniversary Edition

FOCUS ON
FOSTER
Special 50th anniversary edition | 4/7/18
Welcome to the GOLDEN
anniversary edition of
<strong>Focus</strong> on Foster.
Inside you’ll find…
> Foster at Fifty
> Our oldest Foster product competition
> Stories from our longest serving
employees
> A trip down memory lane
> Fun facts about Foster

FOCUS ON
FOSTER
We are delighted to have reached our golden anniversary. An anniversary is always cause for celebration, and our fiftieth is no
exception. Our history is so important to us, and along with a strong sense of innovation, we have a great foundation for the
years to come. I’d like to thank all of our loyal customers – without you, we wouldn’t be Foster.
The road hasn’t always run smoothly, but we have consistently risen to the challenge and come out stronger on the other side.
This is down to the strength of our people. Many of our staff have worked within the
company for over 40 years. Their experience and knowledge is invaluable and they’re still so
passionate about what they do, which is vital in teaching future generations as to what it
means to be Foster. I’m very proud to work alongside such dedicated and talented people.
I very much look forward to our shared journey in the years to come! Here’s to the next 50
years!
Paul Veried
Managing Director of Foster Refrigerator and Gamko
We’ve brought back our legendary news
sheet in celebration of this special milestone.
<strong>Focus</strong> on Foster was a quarterly update on
Foster, which launched in 1973 and ran for
over twenty years.
For 50 years, Foster has been the market
leader in commercial refrigeration. We have a
rich history and we wanted to share our best
bits with you.
If we needed any more reason to celebrate,
it’s our sister company Gamko’s 60th
anniversary this year as well.
<strong>Focus</strong> on Foster | Issue 1 | 1973
The early days
Foster Refrigerator Corporation was launched in 1946 in
Hudson, New York by Larry H. Foster.
Foster Refrigerator began its life in the UK in 1965, in a leaky
old warehouse in Hayes, Middlesex. At this time, products
were imported from sister company Foster Refrigerator of
Canada. The company grew quickly and in 1967 it relocated
to a new warehousing unit in Park Royal, North London. It
didn’t stay there long and in 1968, Foster Refrigerator moved
to the current site on the Hardwick Industrial Estate in King’s
Lynn, Norfolk and became Foster Refrigerator (UK) Ltd. That
winter was a particularly bitter one and the heating systems
weren’t fully functional, meaning some of our office staff
had to put their feet in cardboard boxes as insulation to
keep warm. Thankfully that didn’t last long. The first Foster
Larry Foster
refrigerators were built in Britain for the European market and
Foster set up its first overseas base, in Holland, giving us a
foothold in the mainland.
The early years were tough. The market
was receptive to new ideas for food
handling, but they were slow to move.
Particularly due to the added cost for
ocean freight and insurance, whilst there
were numerous strikes in both Canada and
Europe.
The decision to take over the small
(20,000 sq. ft.) UK factory in early 1968
was based on a “marketing hunch”
according to Mike Skerritt, then the UK
Director, rather than on the volume of
business that was being achieved at the
time. This proved to be the platform for
success, with the company going from
strength to strength ever since.
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A trip down memory lane
The main Foster Plants in King’s Lynn
Summer sports day
Mike Brannon being knighted with a trayslide
The ‘Tomorrow Line’ team
An early President’s Cup
The ‘EcoPro G2’ team
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0842
FOCUS ON
FOSTER
Some of our earliest product ranges
For those of you familiar
with our product literature,
you can see just how far
we’ve come!
Advertising over the yearsy
FACT
NOT FICTION
The EcoPro G2 is less
expensive to run than a
traditional light bulb.
Featuring 50 new innovations designed to
drive down running costs, deliver worldbeating
energy efficiency and reliability.
Our products are
independently tested FACT.
Test us and see the savings
available with G2, book an
energy test today
> Call: 0843 216 4666
> Email: energy@foster-uk.com
> Visit: www.fosterrefrigerator.co.uk/factnotfiction
A Generation of innovation
As you can see,
advertising has
changed a lot over the
years. From Michelin
chefs to food safety,
our adverts have
always been topical.
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FOCUS ON
FOSTER
Did you know Foster Refrigerator
owned two race horses over the
years?
Royal Visitors
In 1982, HRH Duke of Kent,
at the time, Vice Chairman
of the British Overseas Trade
Board, visited the Foster
Refrigerator head office in
King’s Lynn. His visit coincided
with a record month for Foster
Refrigerator. The Duke had
ample opportunity to discuss
Foster’s export activities with
then Export Sales Directors
Barry Wells and Jim Hall. In
1982, Foster exported to 45
different overseas markets!
In 1986, Foster was honoured
to host Queen Elizabeth,
the Queen Mother, at
our exhibition stand at
Hotelympia, where she spoke
in length to Mike Skerritt, Mike
Brannon and others from
our sales team. The Queen
Mother congratulated the
company on its achievements
and its job creation in King’s
Lynn – just eight miles
from the Royal residence of
Sandringham. According to
our team, she was delighted
to learn a Foster Gastronorm
’90 cabinet had been
delivered to Clarence House
(her London residence) just
the previous week.
In 1990, Foster Refrigerator
welcomed Diana, Princess
of Wales, to our exhibition
stand at Hotelympia in
London. Welcomed by
Mike Brannon (then Group
Managing Director) and
Jim Swithenbank (then UK
Managing Director), Princess
Diana was shown some of
the latest Foster innovations,
including new bakery models.
To mark the occasion, Foster
presented Princess Diana
with a painting of her old
childhood home Park House,
on the Sandringham Estate,
commissioned by Foster and
painted by a local artist.
HRH Princess Diana
visiting our stand at
Hotelympia
HRH The Queen
Mother visiting
our stand at
Hotelympia
Duke of Kent 1982
Fosterfridge visiting the King’s Lynn offices
Presented to the King’s Lynn Sports and Social Club in 1977,
Fosterfridge was a gesture of thanks for 380 workers who
helped achieve a record year for refrigerator exports. The horse
was leased to the club for a nominal £1 a year, making the
employees the owners – any winnings went to the social club
and aided plans for a major sports and recreation complex.
Fosterfridge was trained by Mr Clive Brittain and the jockey was
Willie Carson. Fosterfridge’s first two outings were at Newbury,
where he had an unlucky start and finished 4th, and the York
Races where he came second out of 23, earning the club
£490. Sadly, Fosterfridge suffered a leg injury at Newmarket,
shortening his first season, but after minor surgery and
convalescence, he was well enough to race again. His first major
race in 1978 was at the 2000 guineas race at Newmarket.
Former champion jockey Edward Hide was retained as a stable
jockey. After this, Fosterfridge was put out to stud.
A decade later, a second horse was acquired. In 1987, <strong>Focus</strong>
on Foster (named after our news sheet) debuted and had run
in seven novice hurdles and chases. <strong>Focus</strong> on Foster trained at
Oliver Sherwood’s stable in Lambourn, Berkshire. The long-term
aim for <strong>Focus</strong> was to race in the high-class hurdle races. After a
change of trainer in 1989, to Chris Bell’s Ledstone Hall Stables
in Castleford, and a change to steeplechasing, <strong>Focus</strong> came first
at the Solmere Handicap Cup at Sedgefield, and came first
again a week later at Southall. <strong>Focus</strong> narrowly missed out on a
hattrick at the Warwick, placing second in his last outing of the
season. In 1991, <strong>Focus</strong> won at the Nottingham meeting, at 25
to 1. <strong>Focus</strong> was sold in 1993.
Celebrity chef Tom
Kerridge
Olympian Mark Foster
… and a Prime Minister too
In 1990, Foster was visited by then Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher during the
British Days event in Kiev, which was a major British export initiative targeted at
‘post-Perestroika’ Soviet Union. Our stand was also visited by HRH the Princess Royal,
and BBC Television, who conducted an interview for the business section of national
Breakfast T.V.
Since then we’ve worked with celebrity chefs including Michel Roux and Tom Kerridge,
and been visited by sporting legends Geoff Capes, Darren Gough, Steve Cram and
Mark Foster!
Olympian Steve Cram
International cricketer
Darren Gough
Strong Man and
Olympian Geoff Capes
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2500m
We’re a proud supplier to Her Majesty, The
Foster
have sold over
Our fridges appeared on
Bake Off: The Professionals!
Foster was founded in
1968 the same year that...
Laid in a line they could reach Africa from the UK...
...or fill over
football pitches!
1 MILLION
...and we've safely stored
enough food to fill 136
Great Pyramids’ of Giza!
fridges in 50 years!
In Zambia,
one of our
fridges
has been
installed
1 mile
underground
and our highest fridge can be found at 2500m high in Bhutan
famous chefs use our fridges,
such as the Michelin-starred
Tom Kerridge & Michel Roux
Our fridges can be found in
different countries
(and counting)
The Beatles
...The first jumbo jet
took to the skies
...The Beatles,
released
"The White
Album"...
we were the first to
produce commercial
refrigeration
in the UK
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The Knights of the Round Table
Robert said, “He drew out a football pitch and discussed
‘tactics’ to explain what had to happen. The salesmen were
the strikers and the manufacturing plant were the defenders.
He rallied the troops and everyone left feeling highly motivated
and ready to go.”
Paul agreed, “He was a great speaker.”
Mike Skerritt introduced pensions for the workers back in 1973.
You had to have worked at Foster for 5 years to be eligible.
“We really want to thank him for that,” Stuart said.
Speaking of Mike, he also orchestrated the Sports and
Social Club
We asked them what the factory was like when they first
started with Foster
He had a vision that it would include football pitches, cricket,
bowls, a running track and a swimming pool.
In the early days, there were no drawings. Everything was
measured with Wally Norman’s elastic tape measure. He could
make anything fit! The first drawing office was a caravan!
Larry Foster, the founder of Foster Refrigerator, visited
often and we were curious what it was like to have him in
the factory
The original canteen was opened by Paul’s mum. “There were
no chairs, so we had to sit against the wall.”
“I remember, Larry Foster liked to fly over on concord!
Foster Stalwarts: Stuart Briston, Paul Smith and Robert West
When we decided to create this special anniversary edition of
<strong>Focus</strong>, we wanted to really get a picture of what Foster used to
be like, so we invited some of our retired employees back for a
lunchtime reminisce.
Stuart Briston
Stuart was poached from a car garage in April 1968. Stuart told
Mrs Kipps, who at the time worked at his local garage with him,
that he wanted to earn more money so he could buy a house.
She spoke to her husband who was the architect for the council
at the time and had worked on the Hardwick Industrial Estate
project, and he knew Mike Skerritt (then MD). Mr Kipps spoke
to Skerritt about Stuart’s credentials and so he was invited in
for an interview with Mike and Peter Bawland (Manufacturing
Director then).
“They said you’re the man that we want to see!”
Stuart served for 2 days short of 40 years. He had a cup of tea
at 8:10 every day!
Robert West
Robert’s friend Peter worked as a sprayer at Foster and told
him that there were jobs available. This was in May 1968 and
Robert came down and had a quick chat with the manager. He
started work straight away.
“In general, as long as you showed enthusiasm, they’d take you
and train you up.”
Robert served for an incredible 47 years, the last 3 of which
were as a contractor.
Paul Smith
Paul started at Foster at just 15 years old in 1971 and still works
here today as Manager for Plant 4. The application form at
the time asked for your name, address, age and the school you
went to. On his first day, no one senior was in so he ended up
not doing the job he supposed to be doing.
“I finished school on the Friday and started in the factory at
Foster on the Monday.”
Paul said, “I remember when we got a large order from Libya,
Foster had to ask my parents’ permission for me to work
overtime. We worked late, until about 8pm, and weekends to
fulfil the order. The Cup Final was shown on a TV in the factory
using a capillary as an aerial.”
One year when the business was struggling, Mike Skerritt
brought the company together and discussed a recovery
strategy.
Stuart Briston’s long service watch
We would see him regularly. He always walked round the shop
floor by himself when he visited. He liked to see everything and
chat to the manufacturing teams. He was really interested in
what we were doing.
We think he served in the US armed forces and played a part in
the Second World War.” Said Stuart
We asked if they ever got to travel
Robert visited Singapore for 6 weeks to fix a broken cryogenic
freezer. His visit spanned over the Easter weekend – instead
of staying in Singapore by himself, he was invited to travel to
Penang with the company he’d been sent there to help. He
spent the weekend competing in sports and social activities
against another business they were friendly with. The journey
to Penang involved a 24-hour bus ride, travelling up the coast
to Indonesia. They had a really great time there and he really
enjoyed his trip. The locals planned a detour to Bangkok for the
famous nightlife.
“I was a happily married man so I settled for another 24-hour
bus ride back to Singapore!”
Paul said, “My first trip out of Norfolk was to London to rehang
some doors in the Bank of England.”
Paul also visited Italy, to help set up the Italian factory.
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Stories from our longest
serving employees
Paul and a selection of products from his plant
We asked what it was like in the factory
The new Tomorrow line was manufactured at the ‘posh end’ of
the factory. It was considered posh because the products had
gold unit covers.
Diamond Shamrock (a brand owned by Foster that made the
foam that we used) occupied plant 4 before we expanded our
manufacturing line. We then used them to begin foaming walk
ins in 1972 – before foam, we used fibre glass to insulate the
panels. The foaming machine was a big horrible machine with
a long tube; we put eyes on the side of it and called it a giraffe.
Memorable stories about their co-workers
Robert said, “Ron Burton who also worked on the new
Tomorrow line with me, used to do all the speeches on behalf
of the shop floor at the President’s Cups”. His background
was as a County Councillor and speaker from the RAF. “He
was always the last to speak because he was the best one!
Everyone thought he was witty and would get up and clap
whenever he spoke.”
Paul remembers, “When Charlie Taylor left they found out
he should have retired 2 years before. He just didn’t want to
leave!”.
Paul and Robert look through some old photographs
“There was a quarter century club started by Terry Hutchison,
the personnel manager,” Stuart said. “The first one held by
Terry – I got to lead the first response. We used to have a meal
every year to celebrate new people joining the club!”
It was fantastic to hear the stories from times gone by, most of
which are probably safer not to print! We learnt a lot about life
in the factory from talking to Robert, Stuart and Paul and want
to thank them for giving up their time to come and see us!
Last year, Jacky won the Unsung Hero
award at the ACR awards in recognition of
the outstanding dedication and passion
she has shown both her customers and
colleagues during her time with us. The
category was designed for people who had
gone over and above the call of duty in
their working lives and was open to anyone
in the refrigeration and air conditioning
industry.
Name: Jacky Winterton
Job title: Sales Administrator
Department: Regional Customer Action Team
Years of service: 41
I started at Foster fresh out of college in 1976 (I think!). I was applying for
every job on the planet at the point, and I am so glad that it was at Foster that
I found employment. Every day here is a good day, and I love working with
people that I’ve known for years. My highlight was receiving my 40-years of
service award – my friends and colleagues made this such a special occasion.
Working at Foster is like being with your second family – what more can I say!
Technology has changed so much over the years. I remember when I first
started, I was typing production job sheets, acknowledgements and delivery
notes on carbon sheets! We even typed on the serial tags for each cabinet!
Every cabinet was logged in grey stock books that were passed between sales
and accounts.
As far as I’m concerned, Foster have always been the leader in refrigeration – I
am a total Fosterite!
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Name: Maria Pearson
Job title: Sales Administrator
Department: Regional Customer Action Team
Years of service: 40 years in July
I started at Foster in July 1978 – so I have been here for almost
exactly 40 years now! I’d just finished studying at the Tech in
King’s Lynn, when I saw Foster advertising for an administrator with
secretarial qualifications. I remember my interview with Peter Abel,
the Personnel Manager - when he found out I was half-Italian we
ended up talking about Italy and the best way to make Spaghetti
Bolognese.
People at Foster are like a family, we all look after each other. For me,
it goes further, I met my husband Malcolm here at Foster, and also
my best friend Jacky, who I’ve worked with for 40 years now.
I remember the first time we hit one million pounds in a month – the
sales team celebrated with a meal at the Glendevon Hotel in King’s
Lynn.
Name: Chris Thompson
Job title: Modular Packing
Department: Plant 4
Years of service: 44
I joined Foster in November 1973, working in plant 1, in the
crating bay and building pallets. I’ve worked across most of
the plants over the years, as a forklift driver and packing and
wrapping cabinets. Foster has always been seen as a good place
to work, it’s what attracted me to the company in the first place
and it’s still true today.
I’ve had a lot of good times at Foster and I remember the social
club was great! Foster has become a lot more streamlined on
the shop floor, which is all for the best, but there is still a sense
of family.
I think people stay at Foster because it’s a stable place to work
and the hours are very good! The people I work alongside are a
good group to be with!
Everything is computerised now and the company has progressed
to being the number one in commercial refrigeration, and I
believe that other companies look at us for future innovations and
developments.
Name: Ray Broughton
Job title: Factory Operative
Department: FSL Line
Years of service: 42
I was originally attracted by the wages and bonuses at Foster,
they were a go-getting company and I quickly found that the
working atmosphere was brilliant!
I have lots of very good memories of my time here, and I
always loved the inter-departmental 5-a-side football.
My role hasn’t changed all that much, I’ve always been
involved with the crating side. I think the company as a whole
has changed a lot in some respects, but that’s progress!
I still enjoy working here and as my old colleague used to say,
“there are a lot worse places to work, but not many that would
be better than here!” – which I think is true.
Name: Nigel Richards
Job title: Works Operative
Department: 150 Line
Years of service: 41
I had just gotten married when I joined Foster in November 1976, and the prospect of earning more money was offered to me –
hard to turn down after a wedding! Sport was a big part of working at Foster and I played on the work team.
For over 35 years I was employed in the ‘rework’ area, but with the investment in new techniques and machinery, I’ve moved to
another area, though I still do some rework from time to time.
Foster has changed in so many ways, as have a lot of firms over the years. I’m of the opinion that if you don’t change, we all
would have sunk a long time ago, but change is hard for some!
I have worked with a lot of good people, too many to mention, my time working alongside Stuart Briston in the 1980s was one big
laugh, but we still got the work done.
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Name: Malcolm Rix aka Reggie
Job title: Line Leader
Department: 150 Line
Years of service: 45
I was looking for a new challenge when I started working at
Foster back in May 1973. There were only two plants when I
first came here. What is now plant 1 was reach-in cabinets and
plant 2 was walk-ins. Foster has grown to meet demand and
stay competitive.
My role changed when I was promoted to line leader, running
the crating bays for many years – some days we had over 100
cabinets to pack! Now, I run the 150 line.
One of my favourite memories is getting the pay packet on a
Thursday with real money in it and buying a box of chips for
20p.
In my opinion, Foster is the best place to work in King’s Lynn.
And not forgetting...
John Savage
We invited Foster legend John Savage to have a chat with us. He opened the
conversation by saying “All my life has been luck!”
John joined the company in June 1969, not long after it first began
operations in King’s Lynn. Prior to this, John worked as a shipping agent at
King’s Lynn docks, shipping a lot of Foster products. When Foster decided to
open its own shipping department, John didn’t hesitate to apply.
From there he joined the sales office in an admin role - at this time John
sold toys on the side and when Mike Skerritt found out, he called him up
and offered him a job as a salesman for East Anglia. At the time, it was a
new territory, and he dealt with the offshore companies based in Great
Yarmouth, selling coldrooms for the oil platforms. John won the Presidents’
Cup in 1975, the top sales award at Foster.
Speaking of Mike Skerritt…
Mike was the best salesman he has ever met – and he’s met a lot. Skerritt
was the force which made Foster what is was.
Fosterfridge (the race horse) was bought when Foster couldn’t give its
employees pay increases. It was at the time of 3-day weeks and wage
freezes. So, Mike came up with the idea of buying a race horse and leasing it
to the social club as a good way to reward the factory guys.
Foster personalities
“There have been some great
characters who have had great impact
on Foster,” John said. “Maurice Rowe
must be mentioned (former director of
engineering) – he was responsible for a
lot of technological developments and
innovation. Sadly, we lost him too early in
to his life.”
John also talked about Terry Hutchison,
the former marketing director. “He was
such a loyal character and you’d never
see him without a pipe!”
And of course, we had to mention
Larry
“He was very charismatic. He used to
come to sales meetings and sit at the
back, you would think he was asleep but
when certain topics would come up, he
would stand up and talk for half an hour
at a time. He would always be listening
intently.”
John revealed the secret of selling
“People buy from people they like! It is
all about building relationships. When
we hired sales guys we tested their social
skills. Technical knowledge you can learn,
but charisma is inbuilt.”
Was there one standout event during
your time at Foster?
Exhibitions used to be really long events –
he remembered one in particular, in Earls
Court that lasted 8 days and Foster took
orders on the stand, which happens less
now. He remembers that the roof blew
off – not far from the Foster stand. They
all had to evacuate!
At another event, Hotelympia, John
remembers Princess Diana visiting the
Foster stand. “She was charming and
quite funny. She came over to one of our
fridges – a bakery cabinet and jokingly
asked what we had in there, with a smile
on her face!”
John with his colleagues on his last day at Foster
And the best project you worked on?
I sold the largest ever coldroom – I think it was 150m by 60m. It could still be the
largest now. It was in Baghdad for meat storage. I got to visit once and I had to travel
all over Europe to meet with the client, to Paris and other cities – it was tough!”
John travelled all over the place – “The Falklands stands out. It was just after the
conflict and Foster were fitting refrigeration in the new commissary in a new military
base.”
We asked him about Foster in more recent years
“Paul Veried [the MD] is the best thing that has happened to Foster. He is, and always
has been, so professional. He always listens to others. He’s a great leader with a great
vision.”
“Without ITW we would now be a small fish in a big pond, but their ways of business
have helped us no end.”
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Competition
We’re looking for the UK’s oldest working
Foster fridge
We pride ourselves on the quality and reliability of our products and, when maintained correctly, they just keep on working!
As we are celebrating our fiftieth anniversary, we want to find the oldest working Foster fridge in a commercial kitchen in the UK.
Do you own a foodservice establishment and have the UK’s oldest working Foster
product?
The prize for the oldest working Foster fridge will be a brand new EcoPro G2 EP700H worth £2500 (list price) or an equivalent
Foster cabinet of the same value.
To qualify, your Foster product must be fully functional and being used in a commercial kitchen.
To enter, you will need to find your Foster product’s serial code and visit fosterrefrigerator.com/competition
Are you a dealer that knows where the UK’s oldest fridge is?
If you know someone with an old product and refer them to us, and they win, you will receive £250 off your next Foster order and
you will be featured in any and all literature announcing the winner.
Competition closes 1st October 2018.
Full terms and conditions can be found on our website.
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Foster Refrigerator and Gamko UK
Oldmedow Road
King’s Lynn
Norfolk
PE30 4JU
UK
Tel: 0843 216 8800 | Fax: 0843 216 4700
E-mail: sales@foster-uk.com | sales@gamko.com
Literature Code | 1826