In honour of Family Business Week taking place 21-25 November, GAP Hire Solutions is taking the time to celebrate our own family business.
The theme for this year is ‘Celebrating Our Place in the World’, which highlights the central role family firms play in shaping and supporting our local communities, economy and the natural environment.
Established in 1969 by Gordon Anderson, GAP Group has grown significantly over its 50+ years in operation. To this day the business remains family-owned and is run by Gordons’s sons, and Joint Managing Directors, Douglas and Iain. Throughout the years the third generation of the Anderson family have also joined the business including Mark Anderson, Manging Director – North, Karen Greenshields, Managing Director – Technical and Environmental Services, James Anderson, Regional Operations Director, and Nicola Anderson, Senior Commercial Analyst.
As the UK’s largest family-run hire company, GAP Hire Solutions strives to be the most innovative and environmentally sustainable hire solutions provider in the country, with a focus on reducing our environmental impact on the world. Over the years, GAP has had a strong track record of operating in a responsible manner, and has made positive and progressive decisions to reduce our environmental footprint whilst incorporating environmental measures into our business strategies. This is evident with the introduction and continuous investment of a number of environmentally friendly and innovative products. GAP has also been actively pursuing cleaner fuels such as HVO (Hydrotreated Vegetable Oil) – a fossil-free, paraffinic fuel made from 100% renewable raw materials.
GAP is also passionate about giving back and supporting our local communities. The company achieves this through sponsorship of local youth sports teams, including Rugby, Football and Kart Racing. Our Youth Sponsorship Scheme has been running for six years, and we are sponsoring more teams than ever this season. You can find out more about our sponsorship of local teams in our blog post found here.
Established in April 2015, GAP Giving, the Group’s Charitable Foundation, donates 0.5% of our profits for the year to various charities. GAP Giving provides employees the opportunity to nominate a charity of their choice to be considered to receive a donation. We are delighted to have donated over £600,000 to over 600 charities across the country in the past year. GAP Match is another initiative which means GAP will match the amount raised by an employee who is raising funds for a charity. Finally, Charities of the Month is an initiative where each region, division and Head Office department across the business are given the opportunity to choose a charity to receive a donation every year.. We are extremely proud to be in a position where we can give back to several worthy charity organisations and make a difference to the lives of those who need it most.
Being a family-owned and run business means GAP is committed to making the world a better place, and the values which have been ingrained within the business since 1969 are still felt by all today.
“Family businesses are the backbone of our economy and the bedrock of our communities.”
– Fiona Graham, Institute for Family Business