Trina Beare is the MD of Lamberts, which has just celebrated 60 years in the industrial supplies business across East Anglia. Here, she explains how it was never the plan to join the family business – but having a family of her own changed all that
First things first, who are you and what do you do?
I’m Trina Beare and, as the MD of Lamberts, I oversee the day-to-day running and makiing of strategic directional decisions for the business. I also have a close affinity with my staff as I like to ensure I am available for them, offering support and making sure everyone is happy.
Was joining the family business always a foregone conclusion for you?
Never. I studied Business and Finance at University, then started a family – never with a view of coming into the business. My father and grandfather always had the mindset of ‘go and find your own path.’ As a new mum, I needed employment that fitted around my young family, so I started working at Lamberts part-time in 2006 covering maternity leave in the purchasing department. My children were always my priority – I would drop them at school, work for two hours then collect them again. As they grew older, I was able to increase my hours, moving to the marketing department, then to sales and onto general manager before becoming managing director in 2015 – working my way through the business to get to where I am today.
For those not in the know, what does Lamberts supply to industry and how long has it been in business?
Lamberts is a supplier of industrial parts – including fasteners and fittings, lubricants, pipes and valves – as well as workwear and PPE – for the construction, agriculture, offshore, and food and drink sectors, to name a few. We’ve been in business for 60 years this year and are independent and family-run, now in the third generation of family management.
How has Lamberts evolved over the decades?
Lamberts originally opened in Cowgate, moving to our current site in 1975, which has since been developed and expanded. We also had a base in Lowestoft, but over time with the increase of couriers, we were able to serve the Lowestoft areas from our Norwich base, meaning we could close the Lowestoft branch. The staff there were offered roles at the Norwich office, and three of those who came over – Tony, Paul and Karl – are still working with us today.
How has the business faced the challenges of both the pandemic and cost-of-living-crisis?
Being a small business, we have a tight-knit management team so we were able to make decisions quickly as the pandemic evolved. We made sure we communicated regularly with our staff, and they all now have laptops so can work from home if necessary. From a business perspective, we are very aware of the current cost of living crisis and have had to budget more as the cost of running a business increases. We like our staff to feel comfortable coming to us for advice when things are difficult, so we know how essential it is to keep up the communication with them for the sake of their wellbeing to ensure they feel safe and secure.
What’s the secret to your longevity, do you think?
The business is set on the solid foundations built by my father and grandfather that have enabled us to weather the storms of business challenges. We go the extra mile for our customers to offer technical solutions and advice to answer their problems. Lamberts has strong family values and the ethos of treating others how you’d like to be treated, so we ensure there is mutual respect for our suppliers and our staff. The very strong working relationships we have with our suppliers allow us to get stock at short delivery notice, meaning we don’t have to hold as much stock on-site. This enables us to offer more variety of products to our customers because it leaves room for us to hold stock that’s harder for people to get hold of.
What are the plans for this big anniversary year?
We had a great celebratory day with our staff on our 60th anniversary at the beginning of February, involving lots of cake and a photoshoot. We’re also planning some events and gatherings in the summer for our families and staff.
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Featured images supplied by Lamberts
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