Longstanding member of the team, and our current chairman, Raymond Shepherd, is retiring from the business on 23rd December 2022.
Raymond has been an absolutely pivotal member of the team and leader of the business for more than 40 years.
He left his job at the shipyards and joined Ramsay’s in 1982 following a successful summer job with the business. His drive and ambition led him to leave for a short while and set-up his own business with a partner, but soon after he was contacted by one of the directors and offered the opportunity to buy his shares. So, in 1986, Raymond was back for good.
Throughout the years, he worked his worked his way up through the business to become operations director, then led a management buy-out in 2013 and was appointed managing director.
Raymond steered the business through steady growth in the early years, then brought in his two sons Gary (2002) and Jamie (2005), initially as apprentices who then also worked their way up through the business as engineers and latterly as operations and service directors, with Gary being appointed as managing director in 2020. They have come together as a team and become a force to be reckoned with, growing the business from £2m to £11m along with more than doubling employment from 24 to 79 staff today.
Gary Shepherd said: “Raymond is a true engineer at heart. He has been a massive asset to the business for more than 40 years and leaves very big shoes to fill. Not only has his professional experience helped to shape the business we have today, but his work ethic, attitude and values are lived and breathed throughout our business.
“He has always strived to be the best, and his mantra to go above and beyond for both clients and our team is one of our guiding principles, and we’re all proud to continue delivering his vision in our daily work.”
