Excel Vending has kick-started its 30th anniversary celebrations by paying tribute to staff, past and present.
Excel opened for business doors on the 24th of March1993 and has become Scotland’s leading independent vending and reverse vending solutions provider. According to MD Jane MacDonald, the success the company has enjoyed can be boiled down to one thing: its people.
‘Businesses don’t survive, grow and thrive without good people, and Excel Vending is no exception’ she said. ‘We’ve been blessed to have had great people working in the business right from the beginning. Some have retired after long service, and sadly some have passed away, having played a significant part in our story.
‘Mark Edwards, our much loved and well-respected Sales Manager, was with Excel from May 2002 until his sad and untimely death in February 2013. Mark was a team player who worked tirelessly to promote our brand, and many of the blue-chip customers he brought to the business are still with us today. We still miss Mark’s infectious personality and good humour in and around the office.
‘Likewise, Jim Martin was taken too soon. Jim was our Senior Accountant and worked in the business from April 2003 until he died suddenly in 2019. Jim played a big part in our success; his professionalism and diligence earned him the respect of everyone involved with the business.
‘Both Mark and Jim played pivotal roles in developing the Excel brand; they would love to have been part of our 30th Anniversary celebrations, just as much as we’d have loved to have them here with us.
‘Carol Williams worked for us from July 2005 until she retired in November 2019. She was instrumental in implementing many of the procedures which help make us efficient today. Nancy Armstrong was our cashier for 15 years before retiring in 2011. We knew our money was always safe in her capable hands. Back then, ‘cashless’ was unheard of, and Nancy worked away getting all the coins ready for banking. Changed days indeed, as now, more than 80 % of our transactions are being collected by card payments.
‘Like Carol, Nancy has remained a good friend.
‘Pat Veldon joined Excel Vending in 1995 and he remained a loyal and trusted Engineer and team member until 2020. Pat loved his work and met every challenge enthusiastically, including building some of his own tools for the job. Isabel Sloan also made a huge contribution. She started with us in May 2000 and retired, as an operator, in 2020.
‘James Stewart is another long-serving and much-appreciated former team member. He started in 2005 and worked his way up to Stores Manager
‘Our longest-standing member of staff is Peno Qureshi, who first clocked-in in December 1999. Now in her 24th year, Peno is a familiar face to most of our customers. She’s our Hot Drinks Merchandiser and she’s become a fixture at Excel, thanks to her hard work and dedication.
‘We’re fortunate in that people who join Excel tend to stay. More than seventy per-cent of our current team have been with us for five years or more, which is wonderful.’
All of us at Planet Vending offer our congratulations to Excel upon reaching this milestone, and we look forward to continuing to share the company’s achievements with the industry at large in the years ahead. Well done, guys!
More on Excel Vending is HERE on Planet Vending
