Hosting a Prime Minister for a tour of your business is an privileged opportunity, so to host two in less than six years is pretty special! Octink welcomed David Cameron back in 2011* and on Friday, Prime Minister Theresa May visited us.
These occasions are exciting, unusual and a gold plated chance to develop profile and publicity, so when we got the call from Theresa May’s office we were only too happy to oblige. However this visit was different. There was the slick, professional arrival of the Prime Minister with teams of advisers, police and security, the staff meet and greet session and the factory tour as before. However this Prime Minister wanted to talk more – we expected a quick round table meeting but the staff Q&A that followed with a cross section of our employees was refreshingly open and lasted 45 minutes.
The ten questions asked covered a range of subjects from the timeline for BREXIT to the impact of the Heathrow expansion. The employees involved sought further re-assurance on the future of apprenticeships and the importance of R&D for an SME. It was inspiring for our young, especially female colleagues to see not only the Prime Minister, but also local conservative candidate Mary Macleod, taking time to visit and listen to our business.
For everyone involved, It was an unforgettable, uplifting experience and a unique opportunity to witness the Prime Minister in a relaxed and open mood. From an Octink perspective we drew confidence from her commitment to drive BREXIT forward positively and to keep the interests of all SME’s firmly on her agenda.
It remains to be seen how the general election plays out, but should Prime Minister May be successful on June 6th we look forward to tracking her government’s progress relating to the growth and standing of UK business at home and abroad over the coming years.
And to finish this unusual Friday for Octink? The national media then gathered en masse on the factory floor to hear the Prime Minister’s statement on the local election results. Finally we were delighted to see coverage on national and regional news channels over the weekend shining a light on on the print sector and a Brentford SME.