With new legislation coming in to effect from 6 April this year compelling businesses to sort their waste, it seemed particularly relevant to talk to one of our customers who works in Waste Management.
Mark Saunders, Director of LAS Recycling was persuaded to step into the spotlight and share his story, along with some insights into an industry that is increasingly high in profile.
In common with so many of our customers Mark has a relationship with WG Davies that goes back a while but few can claim Roger’s father, John, picked them up on the way to work! “We’ve had a connection with WG Davies for over 30 years,” Mark told us, “I started an apprenticeship there when I was 16, it didn’t last very long because I realised it wasn’t for me, but while I was there Roger’s father collected me from my digs and took me to work.”
The apprenticeship might not have been right for Mark but he was always going to be working with vehicles because that was what his family did, both his father and his grandfather. “My grandfather started the business in 1963, on this site, as a Ford tractor main dealership. Then my father and his brother joined in 1979.
“My father, Chris Saunders launched the waste side of the business in 1984. He started out with just one skip lorry and twenty skips and then eagerly waited for the phone to ring. He saw this part of the business grow rapidly over the next 10 or so years until the business was sold in 1999.”
There was an inevitability to Mark joining the business and he has had a variety of roles. “I have been around the business all my life. I started off working evenings and weekends, washing vehicles, greasing vehicles and sweeping the yard. I was driving lorries in the yard from the age of 12 and became fully immersed when I left college in 1995.”
Mark drove for three years or so and then there was a big change when the family sold the waste collection side of the business to Biffa in 1999. “I went to work there as part of the deal and learned a huge amount before coming back to the family business in 2002. You could say I brought the best of that back and married it with the best bits of the family business – it worked quite well.”
Interestingly, Mark had no intention of running his own fleet. “It was clear from working at Biffa that the vehicles really did create a lot of headaches but a number of our former customers were asking us for a waste collection service again and so in 2007 we decided to go back into it and it has grown from there.”
Growth rarely if ever comes without some challenges and for Waste Management companies that is all about investment. “It is a very capital intensive industry; the sorting equipment, the vehicles, skips and containers add up to a massive upfront cost and then there are the running costs too. It is a tough sector to get into.”
We were curious to understand what Mark believes makes LAS Recycling stand out in a crowded market place? “I tend not to focus too much on the competition, for us it is all about service levels and customer confidence. We rely heavily on the loyalty of our staff; we’ve got some amazing drivers and staff, some of whom have been with us for more than three decades. And we keep it personal, if anyone phones up to book a skip, or a collection, it is always a person who answers the phone, there’s no automated service. We want to give customers the opportunity to speak to the people they’re dealing with.”
LAS are based in Lampeter, over 40 miles from WG Davies, but they regularly pass the Swansea depot and Mark is clear that he likes the MAN vehicle; “We’ve got three MANs, including a hook loader purchased in 2010 and that’s still in operation. We will replace that this year but for now it has done over 700,000 km and it’s been a very good and reliable vehicle.”
He also appreciates the back-up he gets from the WG Davies team in Swansea, “We’ve got dealers who are closer to us but the service we get from WG Davies makes it easy for us to choose the MAN brand. We like working with Daniel, we really feel like he cares. We know he’ll do what he can to get us out of trouble and that goes along way. Some dealers leave you with a feeling that they’ll get to you when they can, that you’re not important. You never get that with Dan and WG Davies have got people there that know what they’re doing – they will fix it first time rather than going back and forth. They have even sent someone out to our site to sort something, I really can’t fault the service.”
And he recognises the role that WG Davies play. “Our business is like a big gearbox with many different cogs and none of them can fail, otherwise the wheels don’t turn. WG Davies is a crucial part of that gear box and one that has never let us down.”
And what about the future? For now it is firmly a family business, Mark works alongside his sister Tina Morris and his three children are all involved; Charlotte who has just graduated is in sales, while Joseph and Harry work alongside their studies. However, Mark does not want them to join the business unless they really want to. “The idea is that they would go off and work somewhere else and learn a little bit. Then, if they genuinely have a passion for it, there will be a place here for them. You will never do well in any career unless you have a passion for it but that is especially true if you want to run and own your own business. It will be destined for failure if you’re not prepared to live and breathe it because it’s so demanding.”
It is clear that Mark does live and breathe all that he does at LAS Recycling, his clarity about what is important and his respect for the team around him are a winning formula, we are delighted to be a cog in the wheel that continues to support and drive his success.
Thank you Mark for stepping into the spotlight.