Lister Trade Frames managing director stands down after 30 years with firm

Boss took firm from shed at bottom of garden to company with £12m annual turnover.

Colleagues have heralded the impact of a 'well-respected' businessman who has stood down after 30 years with the same company.

Mark Warren helped to oversee Lister Trade Frames's growth from a shed at the bottom of a garden to a company with a £12 million annual turnover.

The managing director has now stepped away from his role after the window and door specialist called in administrators and a new buyer was found for the firm on Fenton Industrial Estate.  Existing directors Phil Warren and Darren Pusey will join the new board with more 50 years’ experience between them.
Sales director Phil said: "Mark is a well-respected name within the industry and was often lauded as a businessman who combined great business sense with good old-fashioned morals and ethics. Under his stewardship, Listers became a dominant force in the industry.

"He firmly believed a company is only as good as its staff. And when you consider that the vast majority of the workforce have more than 15 years’ service under their belt it is safe to say he garnered total respect and dedication from his staff.

“That is the magic of Mark. People wanted to work for him. Whether you were on the shop-floor, working on the skips or manning the sales office, Mark knew everyone and had time for us all. Being the boss and a friend is a tightrope not many men can walk, but Mark seemed to manage it effortlessly.”

Mark joined Listers in 1987 as a business manager when the company had just one employee and annual sales of less than £100,000. During the next decade he managed the business as it grew to a £3 million turnover and employed around 35 people. In 2012, he led a management buyout.

Darren said: “Mark was absolutely key to building team spirit as well as ensuring the business remained ahead of the curve. He kept all of us motivated to succeed - and I do mean all of us.”

Fenton-based Lister Trade Frames – and its assets – was last week sold to GJB Holdings. The move safeguarded 70 jobs to ‘ensure that customers continue to receive the high standard of product and customer care they are used to’.

Original link - http://www.stokesentinel.co.uk/news/stoke-on-trent-news/lister-trade-frames-managing-director-507221

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