Excellence deserves to be recognised and celebrated. The 2024 Stray Ferret Business Awards is the event to put your business, people or great initiative in the spotlight!

Make the most of your efforts by reading our top 10 tips for writing your submission for success.

Entries close on January 19, 2024.

Ripon Farm Services will be celebrating the 20th anniversary of its New Year Show this month.

The event, which is one of the UK’s leading agricultural machinery displays, will be held in the Yorkshire Event Centre at the Great Yorkshire Showground in Harrogate on Wednesday, January 24 and Thursday, January 25, from 10 till 5pm. Entry is free.

Product specialists from Ripon Farm Services, Ripon Ground Care and Ripon Technology will be on hand to provide advice on machine choice, set-up, optimisation and job management. Visitors will be able to explore the latest innovations, speak to experts and see the products up close.

The star of the show is expected to be the new John Deere 300M self-propelled sprayer.

Richard Simpson, commercial director of Ripon Farm Services, said:

“We are delighted to be showcasing the new John Deere 300M self-propelled sprayer, it was first introduced at Agritechnica in November last year so it’s great for it to be taking centre stage at our show in January.

“We can’t wait to welcome our customers and guests for what promises to be a very busy 20th anniversary event.”

A vast range of ground care machinery will be on display, from ride-on mowers through to pressure-washers and hedge-trimmers, as well as parts, tools and store items from brands including Milwaukee, Draper and Portek.

Mr Simpson added:

“Apart from the stand-out John Deere machines, we will be showcasing our high-quality machinery, ground care and parts brands that are including Kramer, Bailey Trailers, Kuhn, Sumo, Dalbo, Ifor Williams, Stihl, Husqvarna and Spearhead.

“This really is the very best opportunity to see all that Ripon Farm Services has to offer in agriculture and turf technology, new and used machinery, parts and services in one single location. We’ll also have some special show offers and a wide range of used equipment deals.

“Our specialists across all sectors will be on hand to answer any questions during the two days, so the event is truly a one-stop shop for farmers and ground care professionals across the north of England.”

Ripon employer grows

Wolseley, the national plumbing supplies firm that employs around 250 people in Ripon, continued to grow organically last year, according to figures published in its latest annual report.

Over the 12 months to July 31, 2023, the company increased revenues by £140 million (8%) to £1.87 billion. This caused a jump in operating profit to £75 million, from £65 million in 2022.

However, profits before tax fell to £73 million, from £146 million in 2022, and the directors have not yet declared a final dividend to shareholders.

The company also increased its number of branches by one to 544, and its employee headcount rose by 234 to 4,720.

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This story is sponsored by Wolseley.

Ripon brothers Andy and Rich Hudson love working at Wolseley’s distribution centre in Melmerby.

Between them they have clocked up almost 40 years of service at the plumbing and heating merchants, which has its UK headquarters in Ripon and Warwick.

In fact it has been somewhat of a family affair, with their father and aunt also working for the firm until retirement.

Andy said:

“My Auntie Connie was with Wolseley for most of her working life and is still the telephone answer service when you ring head office.”

The company, which has a £1.8bn turnover, employs almost 5,000 staff in the UK, of which 270 are based in Ripon and 150 at the distribution centre in Melmerby.

It is Melmerby, a short ten-minute drive from Ripon, where the two brothers are based.

Twenty years of service

Andy said:

“I’m coming up to 20 years service. I started off as a general picker, packer.

“The advantage of working at Wolseley is there is always the opportunity to work somewhere new within the distribution centre and expand your knowledge base.

“I excelled at what I was doing in one area and then I moved into a different area.

“I’ve been trained on various manual handling equipment, fork trucks and more. There are about six or seven trucks I’m actually trained on. So Wolseley invest heavily in their employees to get the best out of them.”

Safety is key.

Varied work

Andy, who is currently working in the stock team, credits his long service to the variety of work.

He said:

“There are always different areas you can work in and different ways you can advance through the company.

“I’ve done various qualifications with Wolseley. I’ve done an NVQ in warehousing. I’ve also just completed a Wolseley Talent Booster and I’m about to start another course shortly through our Wolseley Talent Guild.

“This is in-house training and they have recently invested in the training suite at Ripon head office. So anybody can be put forward for this training by their manager. I’ve completed the training booster for Team Leader and I’m about to start training for manager level.”

Andy said there is always scope for growth at Wolseley.

Wolseley’s award-winning Talent Guild includes apprenticeship programmes, talent boosters and career ladders, right through to more technical qualifications and higher education programmes.

Wolseley is currently training more than 130 apprentices across the UK and boosting the skills of more than 150 existing employees.

Andy added:

“All the way through there is training and support from your managers. Everybody wants the best out of you.

“I feel very valued and it’s such a nice atmosphere to work in.

“Every day is different. There are no two days the same.”

How it began

Wolseley started life in a very different form in 1887, moving into the heating space in the 1960s. Wolseley moved into Ripon in 1971 as The Wolseley Hughes Group.

It was based on Boroughbridge Road, where it remains to this day, and was made up of three companies OBC, Yorkshire Heating Supplies and Granville Controls.

In 1985, the company expanded its site and by 1996 was known as Wolseley Centres.

Wolseley is a leading specialist provider of plumbing, heating, cooling, and utility products to trade customers. Trading under a number of leading brands including Wolseley Plumb & Parts, Wolseley Pipe, Wolseley Climate, William Wilson, Jointing Tech, Burdens, and Fusion Utilities. It has over 560 branches nationally, three centres of excellence in the utilities space, support centres in Warwick and Ripon, and four distribution centres.

Rich Hudson has worked for Wolseley for almost 18 years and is currently the warehouse Team Leader at Melmerby.

He said:

“There is plenty of variety and plenty of opportunities to keep you interested.

“There are different machines to learn to operate and different departments you can move into – it never gets stale.

“There are also a lot of learning opportunities. Wolseley is currently putting me through an NVQ qualification in leadership and management. They offer qualifications for any area you want to go into.

“I met my lovely wife, who also worked for Wolseley, so they must be doing something right!”

Now is the time to join Wolseley’s distribution centre in Melmerby as a Warehouse Operative. Earn up to £24,211 per annum with generous benefits. Apply today by clicking or tapping here.

The Friends of Hell Wath and supporters have been pulling together for years to tackle an overbearing foreign invader at the Ripon nature reserve.

But many volunteer hands are still needed, if they are to win the battle by bashing the pervasive Himalayan balsam plants into submission.

Over the years, balsam has spread across a third of the site, putting a stranglehold on some areas and harming the growth of native species crucial to the biodiversity of the reserve.

FOHW secretary Jeremy Dunford told the Stray Ferret:

“Because Himalayan Balsam is so abundant, bees stick around feasting on the plentiful supply of nectar that it provides, meaning that these vital pollinators are not properly serving the needs of other plant species.

“This creates an imbalance, as it limits the variety of plants such as meadow flowers, that can add  greatly to the biodiversity of the site.”

Among those involved in clearing the site of Himalayan Balsam are Nabil Abbas, manager of the Skell Valley Project and FOHW member Karyn Lees.

Last week, the army of tireless volunteers, who have been manually tearing up the balsam, received a helping hand from the scientific  community.

Scientific help

After seeking assistance for two years, FOHW discovered that their call for help was being answered with the introduction of a natural fungal rust developed by the Centre for Agriculture and Bioscience International, experts in biological control and fighting Himalayan balsam with fungal pathogens.

The fungus option, which weakens the plant by infecting its stem and leaves throughout the growing season, only infects Himalayan balsam and does not pose a risk to other species.

Not so pretty in pink — the Himalayan Balsam that has invaded Hell Wath Nature Reserve

 Mr Dunford said:

“We were absolutely delighted to be selected as one of the UK’s trial sites and hope that it will lead to a long-term solution that helps us in the work that we are doing here, alongside the Skell Valley Project, whose expertise is invaluable.

“However, while we wait with keen anticipation to witness the effects that the fungal rust has on selected areas of the reserve, we still need as many people as possible, to assist us with the seemingly unending task of pulling and snapping the balsam and stamping on its roots.”

Volunteer assistance

The friends, who can be contacted by clicking this link, have received assistance from 5th Ripon Brownies, young soldiers from the Harrogate Army Foundation and staff from major local employer Wolseley and visitors, who are encouraged to pull, snap and stamp on as many Himalayan balsam plants as possible when visiting the reserve.

Once pulled, the destroyed plants should be left at the side of the paths for collection and all people involved in this mass removal operation are advised to wear gloves, as the plants are often found alongside nettles, which should be left in situ.

Nabil Abbas, manager of the Skell Valley Project, has been providing help, guidance and practical assistance to FOHW.

He said:

“You realise the scale of the task when you see how much of the Hell Wath site has been overrun by the Himalayan Balsam.

“But nature has a remarkable way of bouncing back and it is great to see how the friends and other volunteers are working together to reclaim the area so that native species can flourish once more.”

Community volunteers from Wolseley, have been involved in the huge clearance programme. Picture: Skell Valley Project

Karyn Lees, a member of FOHW, who is literally getting to the root of the reserve’s balsam problem, said:

“Once you start it becomes addictive, as you realise with each plant pulled up and destroyed, you are helping the native species to thrive.”

Read More: 

• What is planned for Ripon’s Spa Baths?
• Fungus joins the fight at Ripon nature reserve

This article is sponsored by Wolseley.

Beth Stephenson has become a rising star at Wolseley in just ten months with the Ripon company’s award-winning Talent Guild.

The Loughborough University student, who is reading accounting and financial management, was debating where to go for her placement year when she found the perfect fit in Wolseley.

Wolseley is the UK’s leading plumbing, heating and cooling specialist with 560 branches across the UK and its headquarters in Ripon.

The company employs more than 320 people in the city and recently completed a £500,000 refurbishment of the Ripon office.

So this is an exciting time to join the team and there’s no better way to get your foot in the door than through the Wolseley Talent Guild.

A taste of different career paths

The opportunity to move around and learn in different parts of the business through the Wolseley Talent Guild was a major draw for Beth, who is originally from York.

She started in August 2021 with the transactional input team but she has also worked with the tax and treasury teams. Beth, 22, said:

“That experience with different departments has meant it is much easier for me to understand the whole business and piece it altogether.

“It seemed daunting at first but I had heard from other people that they had gone to a business and stayed in one department the entire time – sometimes it’s an area they don’t like.

“Now I know which areas I like so when I progress, I can start my career in the area I like. It’s beneficial for my career but also for Wolseley as I have been able to connect the different teams.

“Ripon is lovely. I am from York so Ripon is similar to York but smaller so it’s a very nice place.

“There are lots of lovely places to walk and lots of independent shops. There’s a new vintage shop that has just opened up too which I am excited about.”

Beth is a student at Loughborough University.

Why join Wolseley?

Wolseley’s award-winning Talent Guild is a great way for employees to ensure progression and realise career goals. This industry-leading approach received formal recognition in December 2021, when Wolseley scooped the HR Excellence Award for Talent Management Strategy of the Year.

It includes apprenticeship programmes, talent boosters and career ladders, right through to more technical qualifications and higher education programmes.

Wolseley is currently training more than 130 apprentices across the UK and boosting the skills of more than 150 existing employees.

When employees progress they will notice that Wolseley strives to do the right thing – whether that is in the way they treat customers, suppliers or employees.

Wolseley knows how to attract, develop and retain the best people. The company offers competitive salary, holiday entitlement, a fantastic pension scheme, life insurance and much more.

Would you like to join Wolseley and unlock your potential with the Talent Guild? Click or tap here to find out more information.

There was a sweet after-taste to Ripon Cathedral’s Beer Festival, as a tally up of takings showed it raised £18,000.

The event, held in the Dean of Ripon’s garden in the shadow of the city’s iconic cathedral, attracted a record 1,250 adults.

Their purchase of pints of craft ales, combined with tickets bought for the tombola, raised money that will help fund the music, heritage conservation and the education programme at the cathedral.

In this celebration 1,350th anniversary year, at the church founded by Wilfrid, the festivities will go on until October and there was plenty to toast and look forward to at the festival, making its return after two years of covid lockdowns.

Ready to pull the pints – the bar team at the festival

Sponsored by Wolseley, the event saw 42 different craft ales on offer from brewers including Hambleton Ales, Roosters and Theakstons.

Visitors had musical entertainment provided by The Temps, Reef Hound and Jaspa, while children who attended with their parents, had a bouncy castle, tombola and Brick Box Yorkshire’s huge quantities of Lego to keep them occupied.

Ripon Cathedral development manager Margaret Hammond, said:

“It was lovely to be able to host this annual fundraising event again after being unable to do so since 2019, due to the pandemic.

“It was a fantastic success and our supporters showed just how loyal they are after a three year gap, many familiar faces joined us again! We have such incredible volunteers and staff who help to make the event possible, thank you to everyone who contributed.”

Wolseley was the main event sponsor and many other local Ripon businesses, advertised in the programme distributed at the event. There was also support from the cathedral’s business partners Brewin Dolphin and Raworths Solicitors.

Rick Jones, owner of Valentino’s Restaurant and the Water Rat gastro pub, once again was integral to the event and has supported the Cathedral since the first beer festival more than ten years ago.

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Red Ladder’s production of The Damned United, about Brian Clough’s tempestuous time at Leeds United – made famous by the 2009 film starring Michael Sheen – is among the highlights at the first Ripon Theatre Festival.

The radical Leeds-based theatre company captures the feeling of incredulity, dismay, anger and disgust felt in 1974 and beyond, by Leeds fans and players alike, after Clough – who described the team as cheats – was surprisingly appointed manager.

He only lasted 44 days at Elland Road, but went on to greater things at Nottingham Forest, winning the European Cup in 1979 and 1980.

Tickets for a number of events at the festival, which takes place at indoor and outdoor venues around the city from June 23 to 26, are now on sale.

Lempen Puppet Theatre are among the family-friendly performers at the festival.

Other highlights include open-air theatre specialists Illyria, whose production of Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream, will be staged in the cloisters at Fountains Abbey.

Ripon’s refurbished Arts Hub, with its newly-installed wheelchair lift, will play host to visits from two North Yorkshire-based touring companies, Fell-Foss Theatre and Pyramus & Thisbe Productions.

Fell-Foss will present Crusoe’s Island – described as “one man’s story of shipwreck, solitude and salvation”  as the festival’s opening night show.

A scene from Fell Foss Theatre’s production of Crusoe’s Island

Pyramus and Thisbe will be reviving their Holmes and Watson The Farewell Tour as a comic Sunday lunchtime treat.

Family-focused entertainment

Children and families will be spoilt for choice across the whole weekend.

Ripon Library will welcome back Hoglets Theatre with a twilight show for children, who are invited to come dressed for bed and to enjoy a gentle bed-time adventure with The Sleep Pirates show.

Story Craft Theatre from York also take over the library for an afternoon of crafty tales around the Heading into Space theme.

Puppetry and theatre for families feature heavily on Festival Saturday with back-to-back entertainment both indoors and outdoors across the city.

Skipton-based and internationally-respected Lempen Puppet Theatre take part in an entire day of indoor and outdoor shows and workshops in the Arts Hub, Library and at pop-up open-air locations.

Two more theatre companies with family-focused productions will be in residence in Ripon Spa Gardens for Festival Saturday – Badapple Theatre Company present their Tales from the Great Wood, followed by Strange Twig Theatre Company with Winnie and Warwick’s Magical Menagerie,

These shows sit alongside Punch and Judy puppet shows from Richmond-based Ron Wood and the day kicks off in Spa Gardens with an interactive Musical Bear Hunt for young children.

Festival director Ian Holloway said:

“We are delighted that businesses, local councils and trusts have got behind the festival to a degree that has enabled us to book a wide range of street theatre and “walkabout” acts, helping create a vibe throughout the day.”

Sunday events include pop-up dance theatre from Leeds-based ACCA ColLab to be performed in two café locations and the culmination of a Jubilee-themed living history project at the Ripon Workhouse Museum, before the Festival Finale at Fountains Abbey.

The Ripon Theatre Festival programme also includes pop-up indoor drama, spoken-word and illustrated talk events at the Curzon Cinema, The Little Ripon Bookshop and Ripon Library.

There’s also a puppet-led family trail game around the city centre and on Saturday night, a community revue of sketches and music from local writers and musicians.

The Festival opens on Thursday morning, June 23, with folk fables for grown-ups from “a unique force in storytelling”, Leeds-based Ursula Holden Gill.

A programme of free and affordable events

Sponsorship and local support means that many festival performances are free to watch and prices for ticketed shows have been kept low to encourage residents and visitors to attend multiple events across the weekend.

Ripon Theatre Festival is being organised by a team of community volunteers under its parent charity, The Ripon City Festival Trust.

In addition to main sponsor Wolseley, financial support has been provided by the Ripon BID, Specsavers, Ripon, Elstob & Elstob, MKM, F E Metcalfe along with North Yorkshire County Council, Ripon City Council and the Liz & Terry Bramall Foundation.

Support has also been provided by community groups, including  Ripon Rowels Rotary Club, the Charity Pantomime Group and the Ripon Recycling Fund.

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Arts and community groups from across the city, are coming together to play a role in the new Ripon Theatre Festival

Taking place from June 23 to 26, the festival aims to brighten the open spaces and venues in the city with professional and community performances.

Plans include puppetry, dance, drama, street theatre, storytelling, children’s activities and family shows.

Festival director Ian Holloway and representatives from the organisations that make up the festival team, introduced themselves to an audience of 40 potential participants, volunteers and supporters at a meeting held in Ripon Arts Hub last week.

Festival team members, from the left: Ian Holloway, Tina Salden, Simon Hewitt, Katie Scott and Julia Whitham

The event is being made possible with funding from a growing number of businesses and organisations, including main sponsor Wolseley, which has been a leading employer in the Ripon area for more than half a century.

Family shows are planned for Ripon’s Spa Gardens

Volunteer Co-ordinator, Tina Salden, said:

“There are many roles for volunteers to help out as stewards and marshals or to serve refreshments, look after visiting artists or direct visitors and audiences.

Help is also needed ahead of the Festival with publicity around the region to ensure that the events are enjoyed by as many people as possible.” Anyone who missed the meeting, but who wants to get involved can contact info@ripontheatrefestival.org.

This article is sponsored by Wolseley.

The UK’s largest plumbing and heating merchant, Wolseley, is recruiting to fill a number of roles in its Ripon support centre and store branches.

The firm specialises in bathrooms and heating as well as infrastructure solutions and cooling products.

Wolseley offers great benefits to all of its staff, with life insurance, an employee assistance programme (including counselling) and flexible working options, on top of the competitive salary, great holiday entitlement, and fantastic pension contribution scheme you’d expect.

Michelle Henstock has worked at the Ripon support centre for more than forty years, and is now payroll and benefits manager. She recalls starting work there in 1981:

“Wolseley, or Yorkshire Heating as it was, was the employer of choice in the Ripon area at the time – everyone wanted to get a foot in the door. Whenever a vacancy cropped up, you wanted to grab it!”

She added that those in her team have always felt like family:

“I think I’ve been really blessed in that respect. I’ve always worked in good teams and with good colleagues that have worked well together and got on. I’ve remained friends with many former colleagues, and I’ve gained new ones too.”

Supporting your wellbeing

The company places a family ethos at the heart of its culture, and wellbeing is a priority. With trained mental health first aiders across the business, there’s always someone there to support you.

Colleagues can also sign up to the special ‘Wolseley Wellbeing programme’, a comprehensive 12-week course that covers exercise, nutrition, sleep, positive psychology, and stress management.

Wolseley recognises how important staff engagement is to wellbeing, so you’ll be able to have your say on how the company is doing and where it’s going.

Pay matters

When you’re looking for work, pay is important. Wolseley wants to attract the very best talent, and pays people a wage that means they want to stick around.

Wolseley always pays above the National Living Wage; what they call the Wolseley Wage is well over £500 more per year than the Living Wage for those aged 23 years and over. The gap is even wider if you’re under 23 years old (where the recommended pay is lower), as they don’t believe someone’s wage should be determined by their age.

To see the roles currently on offer at Wolseley, visit www.wolseleycareers.co.uk

Few major employees in the Harrogate district have experienced more turbulent times recently than Wolseley.

The plumbing and heating merchants, which has a £1.8bn turnover, employs almost 5,000 staff globally, of which 270 are based in Ripon and 150 at a distribution centre in Melmerby.

Besides covid, this year Wolseley has been at the sharp end of Brexit and been sold to private equity firm Clayton, Dubilier and Rice for £308 million.

The man navigating the choppy waters is Simon Oakland, who has been chief executive of Wolseley UK since January last year.

Mr Oakland, who has a background in private equity, has been with the company in its various guises since 2012.

He doesn’t hide how difficult the last 18 months have been, particularly for staff in Ripon. The site, which opened in 1971, provides support functions, including accounts, payments, IT support and HR and have such felt the brunt of all the changes.

“As a business we have been through a lot of difficulties. There had been damaging cost cutting measures and we’ve been through a few strategic initiatives that haven’t been successful.”

The company, he says, lost customer focus when it integrated divisions in 2017. But a divisional restructure, completed in July last year, was the catalyst for recovery, he says.

The new suite at Ripon.

The figures back him up. In the financial year ending 31 July 2020, Wolseley lost £250 million of sales. Profit, forecast to be £60 million, came in at £6 million, partly due to covid.

But recently published accounts for the financial year ending 31 July 2021 show £75 million profit – considerably up on the pre-covid £54 million figure of 2019. Mr Oakland says:

“This is the first year of genuine growth since 2012.

“From August 1 last year we have had a strong recovery. The market is strong, but we’ve taken a lot of market share.”

He highlights the acquisition of 32 branches of Graham Plumbers in July as evidence of recovery.

Brexit blues

Brexit has not affected demand but it has disrupted the supply chain by making it harder for small European manufacturers to import into the UK.

It’s also created “real complexity” with exporting products to Northern Ireland, says Mr Oakland. The company now has to provide detailed certificate of origin forms and prove its products to Northern Ireland wont be moved on to the Republic of Ireland. He says:

“The process of importing from Europe is going to continue being a small stone in our shoe.

“The process of moving products to Northern Ireland is going to be very complex. Even with the number of exemptions in place now it’s incredibly complex. If those exemptions come off it will be even more complex.”

Read more:

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Until this year Wolseley was part of a FTSE 100 company called Ferguson PLC, which operates in the US, Canada and the UK. But its demerger from Ferguson and sale to Clayton, Dubilier and Rice led to huge change.

“The demerger caused a lot of work and that significantly impacted teams in Ripon, especially finance and IT. We were fully integrated on IT with US and Canada and had to migrate.”

Private equity firms don’t have the best reputations but Mr Oakland says:

“I spent 20 years in private equity. I get private equity inside and out. There are different styles. Some buy defunct businesses and liquidate stock. At the other end you have firms that understand the sector and try to support and grow the business.”

Clayton, Dubilier and Rice fall into the latter camp, he says, and “bring real strategic insight”. But it wasn’t an easy sell to staff.

“I took the decision in July 2020 to be totally open with colleagues and told them it was likely we would be sold to a private equity firm. They took a lot of confidence from the fact that I have been a partner in a private equity firm. That helped to defuse the uncertainty and the Chinese whispers.

“The real theme was that we would be able to tap into our independence.”

50 years in Ripon

Wolseley was founded in 1887, when Frederick York Wolseley launched the Wolseley Sheep Shearing Machine. The firm expanded into manufacturing and in 1899, the first Wolseley horseless carriage went on sale in the UK at £120.

It acquired a number of heating companies in the 1960s. Today plumbing and heating account for £1 billion of the £1.8 billion turnover. Your home’s boiler, pipework, bathroom fittings and gas and electricity meters could well have been made by Wolseley.

Part of the refurbished Ripon site.

The company opened its Ripon office on Boroughbridge Road in 1971. The site reopened this year after a £500,000 refurbishment, which included a new learning and development suite for training courses. Mr Oakland says:

“It’s completely transformed the business in Ripon. It was very tired inside.”

Mr Oakland was born in Dewsbury and his grandparents lived in Starbeck. He is based in Warwickshire and says he looks forward to his trips north:

“I love it. It takes me back to the places where I went to as a kid.”

He enjoys food and wine and tries to complete one or two triathlons each year. Training isn’t easy when you’re on the road three or four nights a week but after a period of upheaval, quieter times at Wolseley may be ahead. He says:

“The business is in a really good place now.”