2023 Review: Takeovers, Trails, Treecycles & TRUST – all to a tee (Part 1)

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As we bid farewell to 2023, it’s time to reflect on a landmark year for MVIS.

From sustainability initiatives to community engagement and technological advancements, not to mention a major acquisition, we have had a very significant year.

Looking back on the last 12 months, here we delve into some of the key highlights that defined our year:

 

January – Ashgate Treecycle

Ashgate Hospice, a charity we have supported for many years found an innovative way to raise money for the hospice, as well as recycling used Christmas Trees to help, rather than hinder the environment. Enter ‘Treecycling’ where trees are collected by volunteers and given to local farmers so they can be chipped and recycled.

In January, our team members Jon Larkins and Ben Ashman took the MVIS service van for Treecycling collections in Matlock. Together, they collected 29 trees helping to raise over £400 for Ashgate in tree collections.

 

February – Employee Wellness Takes Centre Stage

On the mission for improved mental health and wellbeing across the sector, National Highways introduced the ‘Journey to Wellbeing’. An initiative devised to get operatives in the sector to be more open and comfortable in discussing their mental health.

Following that lead, we implemented the Mind charity’s ‘Time to Talk’ initiative, with MVIS’ mental health first aiders delivering to the rest of the team on the importance of talking if life is taking its toll for the worse.

we strive to ensure that our teams is happy and healthy, so implementing initiatives that align with National Highways Journey to Wellbeing is something we were proud to undertake.

 

March -Ashgate High Peak Trail

March saw MVIS sponsor the Ashgate Hospice High Peak trail for the 3rd successive year. Taking place on March 12th, the event sees a choice of three trails through the Derbyshire countryside – all to raise money for Ashgate Hospice.

David Storer, Ashgate Hospice Events Organiser commented:

“MVIS are a pleasure to work with. They are always on hand to provide support across all of our fundraising events.

“Anne (Ashman, Group Commercial & Operations Director) and the team have provided VMS units to us for multiple events now, and their appeals have really helped to raise awareness of Ashgate Hospice and the vital end of life care that we provide across North Derbyshire”

 

April – #TRUSTINMVIS Launch

In April, we launched our #TRUSTINMVIS campaign, with the TRUST acronym symbolising the values the company holds dear: Teamwork, Reliability, Understanding Flexibility, Solutions, and Technology.

Anne Ashman, Group Commercial & Operations Director spoke to us about the initiative earlier in the year. Anne told us:

“MVIS is committed to providing the best possible service and support to our customers. With #TRUSTMVIS firmly in place as a publicly available statement of intent, MVIS is confident that we can deliver the most innovative, sustainable, and dependable portable VMS solutions on the market.”

May – Under New Ownership!

In what was perhaps 2023’s most significant landmark, MVIS underwent a change in ownership in May when Quadrant Management, a US-based private equity investor added us to their portfolio of businesses.

The acquisition provides opportunities for collaboration and innovation across a range of industries as well as increase capability in Research & Development to further bring innovation.

After over a decade of driving innovation including being the first to introduce colour VMS signs, the acquisition marks an exciting new chapter and provides the perfect platform to further propel the company.

 

June – Renewed Constructionline Platinum

As we hit the mid-year mark, we achieved the renewal of our Constructionline Platinum certification. This accolade underscores the company’s commitment to maintaining the highest of standards, providing clients with the assurance of quality and reliability in its products and services.

It ensures that our customers know extensive checks into quality, health & safety, environmental impact, social responsibility and adherence to legislations and regulations have all been carried out and rubber-stamped.

MVIS In The Spirit Of Giving

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Christmas is famous for the notion of ‘Giving’. With the cost of living ever rising, it is good to help those who are less fortunate than us.

Every year the volunteers at Clay Cross Food Bank graciously give their time to help families at Christmas and have an equal opportunity at the festivities we all take for granted.

Over the course of December, they have been bagging up items from generous patrons to give to families across our local area in Derbyshire.

Over 100 bags have been packaged to give out at the sessions leading up to Christmas, and they expect 25+ families to attend the session to make sure they can celebrate Christmas.

The team at MVIS have this year given items containing tinned meats, tinned fish, biscuits, cakes, and sanitary products. 

The foodbank explained “dried and tinned goods are best, if we don’t give them all out over the Christmas period, then we save them for the new Year, so we can continue to help in early 2024”.

The foodbank team heavily rely on local companies assisting at this time of year when the need is higher to help families who have found themselves in a dire situation.

This is a cause the team at MVIS believe in and have been happy to take on and contribute again in 2023.  A massive well done to the team at Clay Cross Food Bank.

Come and find us at Road Expo Scotland on Stand C25.

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On 28th & 29th November, Road Expo Scotland welcomes MVIS Ltd as we take our place at Scotland’s only dedicated Roads & Mobility Event. Road Expo is Scotland’s largest dedicated road, transport and mobility event for Scottish Local Authorities, Government and it’s commercial suppliers.

The event takes place in Glasgow and sees the industries fellow industry big hitters get together including Kier, Markon & Transport Scotland. This will provide us with a great chance to further raise awareness of our products & presence North of the Border on the back of our involvement in the Glasgow World Cycling Championships which took place back in August.

The event provides the platform for debate and discussion around the areas of:

  • Adaptation to Climate Change
  • Future Mobility
  • Decarbonisation
  • Asset Management & Resilience
  • Road Safety
  • Delivering safer roads
  • Roadworks

Visitors to Road Expo Scotland are invited to pick up a brochure and head over to stand C25 to discuss MVIS’ capabilities, with our strategically placed hub in the North East of England which facilitates the ability to build and deliver more units for our sales & hire fleet.

Our Sales Director based at our North Hub, Graeme Lee commented:

“We’re looking forward to heading to Road Expo Scotland and seeing both our existing customers, and potentially, some new ones too. With our North hub just South of Scotland, we’re set up to support contracts better than ever before in terms of both geographical locations, as well as the number of units in our fleet”.

The Great MVIS Bake Off Final 2023

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We have had so much fun raising funds for Ashgate Hospice through various events and activities in 2023. Between September – November we held our in-house baking competition, The Great MVIS Bake Off, Inspired by the popular channel 4 show. This year the competition stepped up a level, with more fierce competition, more star bakers and a different theme each week. 

Throughout the weeks, we saw delicious bakes including cupcakes, brownies, cookies & fudge cakes. Throughout the competition, the best bakers rose to the top and progressed to the knock-out stages, until there were just 2. 

On Monday (6th Nov) we held our grand final between Purchasing Supervisor – Rebecca Prince  & Technical Apprentice – Jacob Spencer. Jacob (Chucky) was going in to his second final in two years after being crowned the Great MVIS Bake Off Winner in 2022. Both bakers were required to bake a Red Velvet cake and neither finalist disappointed.

As the Bake Off is held in order to raise funds for our charity partner Ashgate Hospice, we felt it was only right to get our own guest judges involved. David Storer & Natalie Bell took up the rolls of Paul Hollywood & Prue Leith. After a lot of tasting, deliberation and consulting, not only on flavour but on appearance and texture, David & Natalie crowned Jacob the 2023 Great MVIS Bake Off winner.

We also felt that with our guest judges in attendance, this was the perfect chance to announce our grand total raised for Ashgate Hospice throughout 2023.

We provide support & funds for Ashgate Hospice throughout the year and try to get involved with as many events as we can. These include:

MVIS, also provides the hospice with VMS to promote events throughout the year, including The High Peak Trail & Sparkle Walk.

When. we combined everything we have contributed to Ashgate throughout the year and our grand total is……..£14,982!  An incredible effort by all members or our amazing team. 

David Storer from Ashgate Hospice said:

“MVIS are a fantastic supporter of Ashgate Hospice and always go above and beyond to help us out wherever they can. Whether that’s supplying their digital signs to help with the promotion and safety of our events, helping at our events or even hosting a Bake Off challenge with all proceeds kindly being donated to the Hospice.

The money that MVIS save and raise for the Hospice each year is phenomenal, this year alone the total is just shy of £15k! Amazing!  This can do so much at the Hospice and goes towards ensuring that Ashgate Hospice will be here for the future when people need us the most. Thank you to Anne and all the team at MVIS. It’s such a warm and friendly place and we’re always made to feel welcome. We’re really looking forward to working with MVIS again in 2024.”

Investing in Our Most Valuable Assets

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Here at MVIS we pride ourselves on investing in one of our most valuable assets… our staff.

Many of our staff members have had time and effort put into them to ensure they have the best qualifications. This is both to benefit our customers, MVIS as a company and to benefit the team member in their future endeavours. We always showcase our own certifications such as our ISO, FORS and Constructionline Platinum.

But our staff also have their own certifications to ensure customers that all onsite staff are qualified to the required standard. This is no different for our newest member of staff, Connor Dickson. Our Northern Hub Supervisor. Connor joined us from another company within ITS TM, but only had in-house training. We have fast- tracked him through external training for:

  • First Aid 3-day course
  • Fire Marshall
  • Manual Handling
  • Working at Height
  • Handheld Tools
  • Abrasive Wheels
  • IOSH Managing Safely
  • CSCS & 1 days Health & Safety

Giving him the skills and qualifications to work on the High-Speed network, using his HE Passport, and allowing him to deliver an excellent service to our TM lower speed schemes in the North region. Delivering nothing less than the Platinum Level Service that our customers have come to expect from MVIS.

Well done Connor on this great achievement!

MVIS takes on MR & MRS

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MVIS Staff have been taking part in the ‘Journey to Wellbeing’ over the past year now. This is an initiative started by the team at National Highways.

With Long working hours, exposure to noise and pollution, traffic-related risks, and the pressure to meet deadlines, mental health in the highways sector is an issue on going for many years, this initiative started by National Highways is bringing workplaces together.

This month MVIS participated in MR & MRS, randomly pairing people in the company to see how well they know each other.

This idea gets staff members conversing and learning more about each other by simulating “married life” between two members of staff.

After four rounds of questions such as ‘who is the better driver?’ or ‘who has the best dress sense?’. Augustine and Juliette came out on top as the winners of the first MVIS MR and MRS.

Celebrating 10 years of Pat Musgrave

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Our CEO, Pat Musgrave, is celebrating a decade since he first became MD of MVIS.  We were able to find time in Pat’s schedule to sit down and talk to him about his time in the highways industry and working at MVIS and the team that runs it.

Here is what Pat had to say:

 

Where does your passion for ITS come from?

 

“I guess it stems from when I was a kid. I’ve always liked electronics and messing around with technology. I started off my career as a qualified electrician. Involved in highways, street lighting and that kind of stuff. Rapidly becoming more involved with CCTV and ITS products.

It’s always been more interesting than domestic, industrial and commercial wiring. So, it kind of progressed into that. “

 

Tell us about your past experience in ITS?

 

“I mean, obviously, back in the day, I first got involved with MVIS and help set up the company back in 2012 when we became a limited company with ambition, but I guess it was meeting up with Tony Price.

We used to install ANPR cameras something we still do today, and Tony price was working for a company called NDI technologies. I was at a trade show in London, went onto his stand, got chatting and realised that he owned a property at the mill just below our offices in Tansley. I won a few jobs For NDI technology installing ANPR cameras. That was my first sort of involvement in this side of the RTS side of things.”

He continued: “Tony reappeared a couple of years later with his VMS product that he was bringing in from Australia and was struggling with the product. He set up the company Colour Mobile VMS. He was struggling to do anything with it because the competition had already got supply chains in place from America and Canada and amber signs only, and they couldn’t see the value in a colour sign.

Tony, who was in the early stages of marketing the sign, contacted me to say he was displaying it at Traffex and asked if I would like to go along. I jumped in the car, drove to Darley Dale, had a cup of tea with him and it went from there.”

 

What has been your greatest challenge in the last 10 years?

 

Pat told us: “It has always been funding. It’s always been my role within the business, pre MVIS and post Colour Mobile to raise the relevant funding to do the projects.

That’s always a challenge, having the money to execute projects from start to finish. So yes, that’s the greatest challenge.”

 

Do you have a favourite product?

 

“I guess the Solar IP trailer is my favourite product because we worked really hard to get that developed back in 2011. It’s a very versatile product and the first of its kind to market.”

When asked about MVIS VMS, Pat told us: “The VMS are good and obviously the mainstay of the business. But I take a lot of pride in the solar IP because that was one of the things, we developed on the back of a cigarette packet in the early days.”

 

Which scheme has given you the most satisfaction?

 

“I think the first ROTTM scheme that we won along the M6 Junction 10 to 13. Apart from the Olympics, the Olympics is the main one, going back to 2012, but since then, I guess the ROTTM Scheme 10 to 13, because we were basically only really known as a portable supplier. We managed to break into the fixed market against the big boys which was a massive achievement.”

 

How has the industry changed over the last decade?

 

“More and more people have come on board and the competition has grown. We were very premature in things that we did in the early days. We had vehicle mounted VMS with CCTV cameras on, 6, 7, 8 years ago, we couldn’t get people engaged in those products back then.

 

More and more people have come into the market and these things are now coming to the forefront. The biggest thing is the amount of people involved in the industry. The number of competitors is the biggest change.”

 

What is your greatest achievement since you started MVIS?

 

“I think it’s having the key people in place and obviously the biggest challenge is having the right management in the right places.”

Pat reiterates: “So, it’s not necessarily my achievements. It’s the team’s achievements. Then there’s achievements of running the business on a day-to-day basis for the last 10 years. So, it’s not about my greatest achievements.

It’s the team’s greatest achievements. Having the right people doing the right roles. Having a pride and passion in that role.”

 

How many years have you worked in the Highways Industry?

 

“I guess I’m coming up now for my 40th year having just turned 58. When I left school, doing electrical work and progressed into the streetlighting arena, which had got me first into the highways industry, subcontracting to various streetlighting companies.

So, yeah, you could say I’m in my 40th year of being involved in the highways industry and the ITS arena.”

 

How has your role changed since promotion from UK MD earlier this year to Group CEO?

 

“I stayed on, was moved up to Group CEO and continued with the shareholding. I guess, it gives me more of an oversight role. I’ve got more involvement at a higher level. It’s very difficult to have an involvement in the business when it’s being run day-to-day.

Some clarity on my role and that role is basically overseeing strategic decisions, bringing the team together across the world and making us one company. So that’s my role now. I’ve got more involvement at a higher level.  Anne runs the UK day to day with assistance from Graeme and Anthony runs Australia day to day.”

 

What does the future look like for MVIS?

 

“I suppose previously MVIS had got its own limited opportunities. Now that we are working more as a team between here and Australia, the Research and Development department is working together much more.

We can take MVIS and Bartco Australia together into new markets, new countries with new products. So, it’s an exciting time. If we can keep pace with recruiting the correct people to bring into the business to support the team we’ve got and keep on top of the R&D. Making sure that we are constantly bringing new products to market, that we’ve proved and tested and are fit for purpose.

We have the Solar Barrier coming through and also the new solar IP version 6, which will integrate more equipment and be more powerful. It’s exciting times for the group.”

MVIS Go Back to School as Part of Manchester Week.

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As part of our Corporate Social Responsibility, we are only too happy to get out into communities and not only educate young people on what we do on a daily basis but also give advice and information on careers available upon leaving school and college.

Our latest visit took us to The East Manchester Academy. The school is an age 11-16 High School, located in the heart of East Manchester’s regeneration area in Beswick and is a member of the Greater Manchester Education Trust. We spoke to a year 8 class about career paths and to give them a brief lesson in programming messages to display on our VMS via our web-based editing platform Web Studio.

Group Commercial & Operations Director, Anne Ashman & Marketing Manager Ben Kettell spent the afternoon giving the pupils an insight into how MVIS has grown since 2011 and also how their varied careers paths have brought them to this point.  Both Anne & Ben fielded questions from the group regarding all sorts of queries including salary expectations, day-to-day challenges, and the best route to go down in order to get into the industry.

It was then the students turn to programme their very own messages to be displayed on MVIS VMS-A positioned outside the school. Children learnt about just a few of the features a VMS-A has to offer including the 5 LED colour options and also getting to grips with the ability to resize their message depending on character size and length. They also turned their hand to creating their own imagery and pictograms to display, with some fantastic results.

Molly Reeve Year 8 Teacher said “It was great to host MVIS Ltd as part of TEMA’s Manchester week celebrations. Students were thoroughly engaged in the Q&A with Ben and Anne, and they loved the opportunity to try a design task for themselves and then to see their work displayed on a sign.”

Anne added: “It’s always nice to get out in the community, speak to students and help them get a better understanding of what MVIS signs do and how they work. Lots of the students that we spoke to had seen the MVIS signs before in and around the Etihad Stadium next to the school, so next time they see them, they will have a much better understanding of how the message has got there and the work that goes into it”.

MVIS Newest Temporary Recruits!

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MVIS has always been open to receiving students for Work Experience. 

 

Pupils from local schools come to MVIS to be taught on daily life working in a business. We teach them about our company and how we operate, this is no different for Lucas who joined us the week commencing 03/07/2023 in the workshop and Connor joining the week commencing 17/06/2023. 

 

At the beginning of his week Lucas completed our “New Starter” pack. He undertook a right to work check, was given an employee handbook, shown around all the buildings facilities. He then met the team and had an induction on the workshop and our health and safety processes. He was also informed as to where the fire assembly point is and what to do in an evacuation situation. 

 

He worked alongside our Workshop Supervisor, Cain Gregory, who showed Lucas how the workshop runs and operates during a week of work with us. Helping Lucas to understand what goes in to servicing after a VMS sign and giving him a better understanding of how the electronics of a sign works. Lucas was kept busy, washing signs and testing batteries. He learnt about the benefits of using solar panels and how we are an environmentally friendly company. 

 

 

Connor assisted our Management Accountant, Augustine Shaijan. Working with an experienced member of staff ensured that Connor developed a deeper understanding in the world of accounting regarding VAT and the HMRC. 

 

Connor then continued to work with Ben Kettell, our Marketing Manager, to analyse the trends of social media, researching when we need to upload posts to maximise traction from our social media posts. As the week drew to a close, Connor was tasked with inputting and analysing data and creating our latest CO2 emissions report.  

 

 

The opportunity for pupils to work with industry professionals and benefit from their wealth of knowledge is one of the many benefits of the work experience scheme. 

It was a real pleasure having Lucas and Connor with us and would happily have them back! 

A Great Fleet and Prices to Match!

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Here at MVIS we boast a large fleet of impressive Intelligent Transport Systems.  All our products are designed and manufactured with the purpose of keeping the roads safe.

Hiring from MVIS you will get all the benefits of our products whilst not having to: – deliver, set up store or maintain them yourself.  We deliver, day and night and set up all our ITS units, from our 3 sizes of portable VMS, Compact CCTV, to our Solar IP with CCTV on your site, highspeed network or roadside, supplying the correct vehicles needed for install and the RAMS, so you can ensure the safety of workers and your equipment. All while experiencing the MVIS Platinum Level of Service.

With our recent acquisition by the team at Quadrant, MVIS are now selling our products to you. Buying from us and acquiring one of our products ensures that you will have complete freedom to install your products whenever you need to, with our support in the background. Our ITS Solutions are an important asset to any sector and WebStudio means that your signs can be controlled remotely from the safety of your office or on site.

With great new prices and the most experienced team supplying Intelligent Transport Systems to the market, it would be wrong to not take advantage of this opportunity.

Buying or hiring from MVIS has never been simpler!

Contact our knowledgeable and dedicated sales team:

Do MVIS Staff Know Their Royals?

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Before the coronation of King Charles II, MVIS staff enjoyed a Royal Quiz as a part of the ‘Journey to Wellbeing’ initiative from National Highways.

Once every month the team at MVIS spend an hour attending an activity to improve mental health in the workplace.

To celebrate the historic event, that is the Kings coronation, we planned a Royal Quiz for the team. The quiz consisted of questions about our monarchs and royal related characters from popular culture.

Spending an hour each month to break up the work schedule and take part in fun activities, allows conversations between staff, and to build the teams relationship.

We believe that the Journey to Wellbeing  events continue to have a positive impact on the team, from our Darts Tournament through to our Desert Island Discs.

Celebrating 8 Years of Tim

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Here at MVIS we are celebrating the 8-year anniversary of Tim Hill our On-Site Technician.

He has been a crucial part of the MVIS Ltd, and we are proud to say that he is a long-standing member of the team.

Tim has worked an array of different roles during his 8 years, increasing his skills throughout his time with MVIS, knowing our products and been a senior member of the team others can rely on for his technical knowledge.

Our Commercial and Operations Director, Anne Ashman, says:

“Tim has always been a reliable pair of hands to trust with any task, no job seems too small for him, he has definitely been my go-to person many times for a last-minute job.

It has been a pleasure to see Tim grow over the last 8 years of being with our company and seeing him become equipped with new skills and qualifications and perfecting the ones he already has.

Congratulations Tim on 8 years with us.”

Mobile Visual Information Systems

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MVIS, Units 6-8, Brookfield Way, Brookfield Industrial Estate, Tansley, Matlock, Derbyshire. DE4 5ND

© 2022. Company registered in England No. 8130402 - Registered Office: Units 6-8, Brookfield Way, Brookfield Industrial Estate, Tansley, Matlock, Derbyshire. DE4 5ND