RICHARD SKAN RECEIVES 2013 BATTLESPACE BUSINESSMAN OF THE YEAR AWARD
16 Dec 13. The head of a private, family-owned British SME engineering company was presented with the coveted Battlespace Businessman of the Year Award for 2013. Battlespace is a leading international defence industry publisher.
Richard Skan, who is Group Managing Director of Oldbury UK Limited and Boughton Engineering Limited, based in Wolverhampton, took over the mantle of the annual award at a special reception held this week at the North London Rifle Club, co-located at the National Rifle Association shooting ground at Bisley, Surrey, UK. Richard Skan, who lives in Warwickshire, is also a member of the advisory board of NDI (Northern Defence Industries), the defence sector membership, supply chain and business development organisation and a Trustee of the Royal Regiment of Fusiliers (Royal Warwickshire) Museum.
The Oldbury UK and Boughton Engineering businesses have a heritage of over 250 years of engineering excellence between them and both have provided a wide range of mobile platforms and specialist products for military users over many years. Both companies are now part of Skan Group Holdings.
Richard Skan joined the family owned group, founded by his grandfather, in 2000, after an early career in the automotive component industry. The group bought Oldbury UK the same year and then relocated to its current freehold site in 2006. Boughton Engineering was acquired in 2011 and co-located later the same year.
Today, Oldbury UK is one of Europe’s leading specialist platform providers, focussing on vehicle engineering, trailerised and containerised solutions. It provide standard, bespoke and UOR solutions for a wide range of sectors and industries worldwide, including defence, homeland security, CBRN, aerospace, construction, extraction, waste management and transport. Its engineering capabilities include the design, development and manufacture, integration and supply of specialist platforms, transportable systems and carrier platforms.
Receiving the award from last year’s Battlespace Businessman of the Year, Lennart Ljungfelt, President of Aimpoint AB, Richard Skan said, “I am very honoured to receive this award. Our family is passionate about the businesses it owns – a culture and ethos established by my grandfather who founded the original company in 1954. Today, Skan Group Holdings owns two highly respected engineering businesses, each with a close association with the defence industry worldwide. Three things make our business – time, money and people… and in accepting this award, I want to recognise the enormous contributions which every single person in our businesses make to our success”.
Battlespace Publisher, Julian Nettlefold said, “We have now run the Battlespace Businessman of the Year award for nine years and, in that time, the roll of recipients has included some of the outstanding leaders of the global defence industry. Some have been from the larger international contractors, but a significant number have come from SMEs – which I think demonstrates the very important role which these companies play within the wider defence supply chain”.
Battlespace also organised a raffle to raise funds of SSAFA (The Soldiers’, Sailors’ and Airmen’s Families Association), which provides lifelong support for British forces and their families. Battlespace chose to hold the event at Bisley to launch the build up towards its ‘Owning the Night’ conference, exhibition and demonstration, which will take place at the facility in 2014. The title covers battlefield night vision requirements and technologies.
Lennart Lungfelt, Managing Director of Aimpoint presented tthe award of BATTLESPACE Businessman of The Year 2013 to Richard Skan, who is Group Managing Director of Oldbury UK Limited and Boughton Engineering Limited, based in Wolverhampton, head of these private, family-owned British SME engineering companies. Richard took