Case Study: Woollard & Henry

Based in Dyce, Aberdeen, Woollard and Henry were established in 1878, and are world renowned manufacturers of dandy rolls and engineering services for the paper industry. Dandy Rolls provide the mechanism for putting watermarks and designs in paper. Although, Woollard & Henry are performing strongly in their core business, which is becoming an increasing niche market, paper is a declining market and in the past year the company has been actively targeting other products and industries. The company has recently secured new business in the oil and gas sector, and have diversified into expanding cylinder moulds for the paper industry.

Prior to the employee buy-out, Woollard & Henry had two shareholders, one holding two thirds and the other with one third of the shares. When the major shareholder fell ill, the company was faced with closure. Baxi Partnership Ltd presented a solution, and Woollard & Henry became the first investment.

The Baxi Partnership financed a £1.3m employee buy out in 2002. The cash was provided as a loan to be paid back over time. Half the shares are held by the Baxi Partnership and half are held by the Woollard & Henry employee benefit trust (EBT) directly for employees. The first issue of free shares was worth £300 per employee.

The Board consists of the Managing Director, two employee directors, an external non-executive director and a Baxi appointed director. The employee directors are elected by the employees and are fully involved in board meetings.

There is a weekly meeting held for all employees, the objective of which is to keep everyone informed on company performance, sales, quality and finance. All employees are able to question and put forward ideas and suggestions, many of which have been successfully implemented. At the Annual General Meeting, the company?s accounts can be examined and approved by all employees, and the appointed directors must retire and stand for re-election.

The company was recently accredited with the Investors in People award, and also achieved the International Quality Standard ISO 9000. The assessor commented on the strength of internal communication, the clear customer focus demonstrated throughout the organisation, and the strong commitment to quality.