Kevin Everett, 54, is celebrating 25 years working at Kestrel, the leading UPVC building products manufacturer.
A lot has changed since he joined the Lincolnshire headquartered firm in 1988 when Margaret Thatcher was Prime Minister, and Yaz’s ‘The Only Way Is Up’ was number 1.
Kevin first took on the role of assistant quality manager with Kestrel’s sister company Spectus. “I remember the job was advertised in the Plastic and Rubber Weekly,” said Kevin.
“I applied over the phone and was asked to come in the following week but I explained I was getting married the next day, so I was invited in for an interview that afternoon.
“I never got the job that day, but six months later I received a call to say that another job – assistant quality manager had come up.”
Kevin, who works for Kestrel in Cheshire, soon progressed through the ranks to quality manager then quality assurance manager.
Eight years later Kevin moved over to Kestrel as a commercial manager and after another two years applied for the role of technical manager, which he still holds today.
“As I had come up through the company, people weren’t aware that I was a qualified engineer, so I was given the job,” said Kevin. “The rest, as they say, is history.”
Asked why he had stayed with the company for so long, Kevin stated that it was down to the people he worked with and plain and simply because he loved his job.
“It is a great job, I don’t go into work with dread,” he said. “My role changes on a daily basis, so no two days are the same.”
Kevin’s key responsibilities are diverse, from product drawings and designs to measuring out on site, projects and training.
“Tomorrow I could be building something, next week I am training customers, the week after I am up in Scotland.,” said Kevin. “I am very lucky that I get the opportunity to work with both my brain and my hands.
“It is very diverse, I love it.”