With years of experience making workplaces safer, we took the time to sit down with our Managing Director, Mark Taylor, to find out more about how we got here, what inspired the change from doors and docks, why our mission is so important, and what it means to "Live Yellow" – read on to find out more.
__
Q - What inspired you to move away from doors and into workplace safety?
M.T - It was a company decision in 2019, as our range had become too big, and we had some hard decisions to make as to the future of the company. We had some top advice that made us have some significant light bulb moments and down that path we went. Five years down said path and we are getting more and more passionate about making workplaces safer by the minute.
Q - You talk to us as a team about, 'Living Yellow" – what does that mean to you?
M.T - Living Yellow is a way of life for us at Tru-Gard, it's more than safety it's about making sure every single member of our team understands what we do, why we do it and the difference our work makes on a daily basis. We aren't just supplying any old off-the-shelf solutions, but from design, to manufacturing, to consulting, to installation, and every step in between we are working with our customers to help them reduce harm and save lives.
Q - Tru-Gard's mission is to make workplaces safer. Why is that so important to you?
M.T - Keeping people safe is our top priority, and our mission is simple: to save lives. If we can prevent just one accident or one loss of life, we know we’ve done our job. We can say with certainty we have done that.
Q - What's one moment that made you realise Tru-Gard was making a real impact?
M.T - It was after one of our staff visited a site in 2022, they came back and said that the site needed a consultant to recommend safety changes as it was very dangerous in its current state. We engaged a trained consultant who went to site and recommended a plan to the customer, which we then priced, supplied, and installed. The pivotal moment came when we told the consultant the customer had proceeded, and his words were "you have saved lives on that site, as it was only a matter of time before someone was badly injured or killed" – that was one that will definitely stick with us now and into the future.
Q - So, what's next for Tru-Gard?
M.T - Product innovation and continuous improvement is a core part of our company's DNA so it will be no surprise we have some exciting plans for the near future, alongside the market, legislative, and other industry changes we see all the time. It's an exciting time to be selling yellow!