Ben Balfour – head of operations
Advanced’s home-grown success story, Ben has risen to the top after joining the company on the shop floor as a 22-year-old. His ability and industry quickly marked him out as being of managerial calibre and he was appointed production manager within six months of entering the company.
He has had 14 years of hands-on experience since then managing all aspects of the business, covering production, warehousing, administration and transport. The nature of the business has changed greatly in that time, with the company evolving from a paper-based system when he began into an industry leader in IT - a transformation which Ben has been closely involved with.
The management challenges have also developed over time, with the workforce rising from 30 to 300-plus and changing its composition to the point where 14 languages are now spoken. Ben led from the front during Advanced’s drive for Investor in People status and has now had his managerial skills certified by gaining an NVQ level V in operations management.
Dale Pickup - Health and Safety Manager
Dale began his professional career in the glass and glazing industry in 1995 where he was trained in ISO Quality Management by the British Standards Institution (BSI), obtaining accreditations and kitemarks for his employers.
In 1999 he moved to Pilkington UK Ltd to work in Quality Management and moved further into the field when he quickly recognised the need for sucessful Health and Safety Regimes in such dangerous environments. Dale then joined ARC International as the UK Quality, Safety and Environment Manager in 2004 to ensure that the French company's Leeds-based distribution network complied with all UK law and legislation.
In 2005 Dale moved into the Security Industry to continue his career in Health and Safety, in addition to becoming a representative of the British Security Industry Association (BSIA).
Dale finally arrived at Advanced in April 2010 to take up the role of Health & Safety Manager. He brought with him formal NEBOSH qualification, years of experience and a thorough knowledge of working in dangerous environments and industries with excellent safety records.
His goal is to make Advanced a safe place for staff and customers and his mission is to ensure that safety is a top priority and a constant factor in everything we do as a company.
