Staff at commercial vehicle distributors Hartshorne Group and Crossroads Truck & Bus recently celebrated the 100th person to receive their 25 year-long service award at a prestigious event held at Nottingham Trent Bridge, the home of English cricket.
Over 60 people attended this milestone celebration, all of who had completed 25 years or more service with the company. Graham Smith, HGV Technician from the distributors’ Birstall depot was the centurion to have completed his 25 years after starting with Crossroads Truck & Bus on the 3rd October 1994.
Hartshorne Group and Crossroads Truck & Bus CEO Martin Cronin told his team: “It’s down to your passion, care, friendship and perseverance that we have a fantastic business of which we can all be proud. We have sold over 100,000 trucks and £1billion-worth of parts, along with providing over 250,000 hours of labour over the years. You are a fantastic community and you have contributed greatly to the local economy and also to Volvo.”
Every guest at the event signed their name on timeline wall that traced the history of when both companies were founded back in 1968 (Hartshorne Group) and 1956 (Crossroads Truck & Bus).
Robert Grozdanovski, Managing Director Volvo Trucks UK & Ireland told the guests: “There are not many dealerships in Europe that have such experience. The passion that you show for our industry, for our trade, and for our brand is truly impressive.”
World-class former England cricket Matthew Hoggard MBE was there to hand out the special 100th award to Graham, along with three other accolades for individuals achieving the 25 year milestone – Phil Brookfield, Mark Civil, Steve Hunter; and three individuals who were retiring with a combined total of 132 years’ service – Glen Sargeant, Gary Beacock and John Grist.
The businesses have head offices in Walsall and Birstall providing full parts and service facilities for Volvo Truck & Bus, as well as new and used truck sales, covering the Midlands, Derbyshire, Nottinghamshire, Staffordshire, Shropshire, Yorkshire and Lincolnshire area.
