The new Investors in People VI Generation includes an online survey in which all ISD employees were invited to take part. Ninety-two employees out of 110 participated and 86% of staff affirmed that the company is “a great place to work and has a bright future”.

Additionally, ISD is beefing up its manufacturing capability with a £300,000 investment to reduce outsourcing and improve company efficiency. Investment in machinery and more personnel means that ISD will no longer needs to import modular cold rooms from Europe, but instead will champion UK expertise and design and build these here in Gloucester.

Improvements in manufacturing quality will also lead to greater thermal accuracy and more competitive pricing. The Gloucester Growth Hub, as part of its support to local businesses, has approved up to £35,000 assistance for this project, which will go towards funding new machinery which was delivered and installed in June. As part of the investment, ISD is creating 6 new jobs in manufacturing, with at least one apprentice, in the next 3 years as the manufacturing side of the business expands to design and build more parts internally. Across the whole business, there have been 28 new starters in the last eighteen months as the company gears up to make the most of the current opportunities.

A further new development is that Richard Bowden, who has been with the company for twenty-two years, will be heading up a new amalgamated Division responsible for Special Projects and Cold Stores. Richard’s technical knowledge and experience has enabled him to deliver many of our largest and most difficult projects, making him well suited to his new role.

Andy Moon, CEO of the P&M Group, whose major trading division is ISD Solutions, commented: “It’s an exciting time for ISD. The Investors in People accreditation is an important aspect of the company’s development. We rejected the option of being assessed against current Investors in People standards, where we hold bronze accreditation. We decided instead to pursue the new standard as part of our drive for continuous improvement in all areas of our business. This follows a significant investment we have made to improve total company efficiency, to deliver innovation in customer service and to reduce overall waste. We are very pleased with this result and are already working with all our employees towards gold and platinum level accreditation.”