Stannah is a stalwart of the lift industry, proudly family-owned and run, and with a rich history spanning 150 years and five generations. Stannah Lifts sat down with Group Director responsible for UK lift and service businesses, Alastair Stannah, to hear more about his vision for the company, and to gain a little insight into his role as LEIA President.

Q: Stannah is THE name in stairlifts, but with over 150 years in the lift industry, can you tell me where Stannah began, and where you are now?

A: Our origins go back to my great-great-grandfather, making cranes and hoists for the docks in London. The business then evolved into lifts, and whilst we are well known for Stannah stairlifts, we make passenger, platform and service lifts as well as home lifts, escalators and moving walkways. We are now the biggest independent lift manufacturer, five generations later.

Q: So much has changed over the past 150 years, have you seen that reflected in your values as a company?

A: In many ways, our values have remained consistent, going back to my great-great-grandfather, Joseph Stannah, in the 1860s. He was an innovator, an inventor, but also a good businessman, and he had principles. We found in his papers the ’12 Rules for Life’, and while some of them may read a little bit old fashioned, some of them ring very true today. We take great care to respect and support our people and we recognise that it’s the efforts of many people over many years that have got us to where we are today. Our customers always come first, without them we wouldn’t have a business, and safety and quality are really important – the safety of our products as well as our people doing their jobs.

Q: What’s next? What are Stannah’s top priorities?

A: Coming out of a very disruptive couple of years, we’ll still see the reverberations for a while yet, especially with the effect on global supply chains, so we’ll be working hard to protect our business and our customers. We’re building a new factory in Andover as well as one in the USA so we can improve our lead times over there. We’re expanding other facilities in the UK as well as Czech Republic, investing in our operations and our products to ensure our customers get the best possible products and service. We’re really excited about the future as a British company, growing our global focus.

Q: Sustainability is increasingly important for businesses to play their part in – how is Stannah addressing the goal for net zero carbon emissions?
A: As a business, we recognise that we have an impact on the environment and are increasing our efforts on sustainability. We now have a dedicated sustainability manager and are developing our policies, setting ambitious and challenging targets for carbon reduction. We know that we must play our part, not just complying with legislation, but doing everything we can to reduce carbon emissions. We know there is work to do, so we are putting more effort and resource into reducing our impact on the environment.

Q: With a focus on safety for this issue of Lift Industry News, can you identify your top safety focus?

A: Safety is and will always be a big focus of ours, it’s ingrained in our business – safety comes first. We invest time and money to ensure our people are working safely and that our products are safe. Service engineers undertake three days’ training when they start to ensure they’re trained to Stannah standards, and then we hold regular briefings, toolbox talks and it’s always the first thing on the agenda at relevant meetings. We have our ‘Golden Rules’ that underpin our safety stance and also work with LEIA – we have a representative on the safety committee. It’s a continual, ongoing focus for us.

Q: What do you think the lift industry could be doing better to promote safety as a top priority?

A: I don’t think there’s a single thing that needs to change. I think it’s about making sure products follow the standards and also that the right specification is chosen for the right application. Behavioural safety is a priority, making sure that safety is ingrained in what we do – much like we get in a car and automatically put our seatbelt on, doing the right thing should be second nature, a habit. We need to make an ongoing effort with training, using different styles of training to speak to different people.

Q: As LEIA President, what is your top priority?

A: My main priority is to support the team at LEIA who do a great job on behalf of the industry and the membership. Our main area of focus at the moment is the post-Brexit product certification, moving from the CE mark to the UK CA certification which has required a huge amount of work by the industry, having to approve all the products and components to the standards. There have been challenges along the way – it takes time to set up new approval bodies – and there’s still a significant amount of work to be done before the end of the year. LEIA have been instrumental in highlighting what’s required and then lobbying Government to ensure we have realistic timescales to get the work done. Another main focus is our response to the Building Safety Act that came about after the tragic fire at Grenfell Tower. This places additional responsibilities on lift companies, whether that’s when we’re installing a new lift or within the management of buildings. We understand how important it is to play our part in improving building safety.

Q: Why is it important to you to be a member of LEIA?

A: My grandfather was a member, so we’ve been part of LEIA for a long time. It’s important to work with others in the industry to improve safety and reduce accidents, as well as raising standards in the wider field, improving products and ensuing there’s a level playing field. As an independent body, LEIA supports the industry, whether that’s lobbying Government or other stakeholders in making sure our voice is heard consistently. We have a representative on every LEIA committee, and we understand that it’s important to support them – LEIA only works if the members give something back.

Q: How do you think the industry can attract new talent?

A: Recruitment has been a great challenge across the industry over the past few months, so it’s important that we reach people and encourage them to explore potential careers. Another main focus within LEIA is bringing the next generation through and LEIA has become an endpoint assessment organisation to help with this. There is also a LEIA microsite online that showcases what it’s like to work in the lift industry, with links to members that offer vocational training. Apprenticeships are a key tool in delivering training and providing a way into the industry, and we’re keen to reach people in schools and help them explore apprenticeships and NVQs. This is something we’ve offered at Stannah for many years, and we’ve seen people join us as apprentices and rise up to senior positions.

Q: What’s been the highlight of your career so far?

A: There’s not been one highlight, but as of July 2022 I’ve worked for Stannah for 25 years. I was asked to mark this milestone with a few notes on my career, and so I’ve been looking back at where I started, as a Technical Sales Engineer, selling passenger lifts in London. I still remember my first appointment, which actually turned into my first order! I learnt a lot from that and it was a great introduction to the company. My third job was manager of an assembly cell in our stairlift factory, a big change from working in a small office, and a steep learning curve, moving to manufacturing, with a desk on the factory floor! I am very lucky to work in the family business with a lot of great people around us who have contributed to getting the business to where it is today and I feel very fortunate to be in this position.

Thanks to Alastair for sharing some pearls of wisdom, and congratulations for 25 years with Stannah!

To find out more about the company, visit their website – www.stannah.com – and explore more about LEIA membership at www.leia.co.uk