Neil Sanderson, Founder and Managing Director of Ramco
This month marks the 26th anniversary of Ramco. It’s hard to believe we’ve been running for more than a quarter of a century!
When I founded Ramco in June 1996 it was with a big goal in mind, to give every surplus asset a new lease of life. Our mission was to put an end to wastefulness - I mean that in all senses of the word of course; the value, missed opportunities, money, and the environmental impact.
Fast forward to today and Ramco is still on that mission, still striving to make a difference and play our part in the circular economy.
While we’re providing the same reuse service, the landscape is much different now. Demand for second-hand equipment is soaring, in fact items pretty much sell themselves.
Playing a major part in the current boom is the post-pandemic economy - the disruption to global supply chains, a shortage of materials and increased prices, the rise in the cost of living playing out for both businesses and consumers – all this alongside the pressing need to reduce our carbon footprints and urgently meet net zero targets. That’s quite a backdrop and to be frank, it’s a huge driver for us to do more and go further for our clients.
Playing our part
While sustainability is baked into our DNA through our service which supports clients to reuse equipment and reduce their environmental impact, I’m also mindful of our own footprint as a business and our responsibility to continuously do better – for our people and the planet.
Our focus at the moment is on collecting data and measuring our performance so we’re clear about our current position and know where to prioritise our efforts to improve. We’re making great strides in understanding our carbon footprint – we’re mapping our energy use, waste and making investments to install renewable energy sources like solar panels on our warehouse roof and electric vehicle charging points at our office for staff and visitors to use.
We also want to understand the impact of our service for our clients in more detail. It’s often difficult to quantify this when dealing with multiple thousands of small assets but we need to help our clients see their progress and, crucially, to demonstrate where we can have a greater impact together.
My proudest achievement
Running a sustainable business is more than just totting up the years. The thing I’m most proud of from my 26 years in business is the amazing team at Ramco.
Every day I’m astounded by their passion, commitment and genuine excitement for what we do. They go above and beyond to meet our clients’ needs, to solve logistical or site access challenges, or to find a way to add value to an item before it goes under the hammer. I’m very grateful to each and every individual that plays such a critical part in Ramco’s mission.
As we celebrate our anniversary and another milestone in our calendar, it’s an opportune moment to reflect on the last 26 years and think about the journey we took to get here. Casting my mind back to June 1996, here are three things I’d tell my younger self:
- Act quickly – look at the data but trust your instinct and act now. Time is precious.
- Get a trusted sounding board in place – it’s lonely at the top. Ramco’s steering group has been invaluable over the years.
- Don’t do anything differently – it’s only a mistake if you do it twice, the first time is just about gaining experience. It’s been a great journey so far, and fun!