As for many it was a tough start to the year with 2021 showing no end to the pandemic and the country went back into another lockdown. Most large contracts went on hold until the lifting of restrictions. However, we remained positive and with a lot of hard graft from all the team, we are pleased to say, continued to grow! 

Some Great Contracts

GF Electrical has been involved is some fantastic contracts over the last 12 months. From a large outside lighting project at Parkstone Yacht Club, with all the environmental considerations, to all the EICR of private rental properties. 

Seeing two big businesses relocate to Dorset and the exciting expansions of several other homegrown companies, is great for the area. Being a part of their journey is always satisfying but even more so, in what was yet again another hard year for so many. 

Everyone is looking forward to a well-earned break. With all the uncertainty at the beginning of 2021 and the knock-on delays caused, a years’ worth of work was carried out in the space of 6 months! We had three large commercial contracts take place at the same time. The team worked extremely hard to complete these to the highest standards and by the deadlines under difficult pressures.   

Well done to every single member of the company, who worked hard and gave it their all.  

New Faces

The company welcomed two new faces this year. In March, via Government’s Kickstart Scheme, Morgan became our ‘Business Developer’, handling social media accounts and the website.  In September we welcomed Chris, our first-year apprentice who enrolled with Eastleigh College. 

In June, we managed a photoshoot of the team and company vehicles at Holton Lee, with Blades Media. It’s still expected in the construction trade to have professional pictures showing your fleet and staff. Last time we managed to get to do this was nearly 7 years ago, so it was well overdue! We are chuffed to bits to finally have updated team photos to use on our social media platforms and website.    

Expansion to the Fleet

GF Electrical made two new additions to the fleet during the year. The first was a Volkswagen id3 Pro, a 100% electric car! There were many reasons why we were looking at a change, the obvious; to try to be more environmentally friendly and to see if during this time we could save on the costs of our fleet. As a Manager, Danny doesn’t need to be in a van really.  It seemed a good opportunity to go for an electric company car and see how functional it would be for the future of the fleet.

The second was a new Vauxhall white van! Historically as a company, we have always had Volkswagen vans in Danish Blue. This colour then evidently become our trade image, staying the same for many years! Having had new vans on order for a year now, due to the long lead times on vehicles because of the present climate, we were forced to evolve.  

We chose a subtle design, after all, we couldn’t match our very recognisable Blue VW.  Our concept was to have a vinyl that was as similar to the white of the van as we could. Keeping our same design with the large GF Electrical, the idea was, that given the light and angle, it would ghost in and out of view. To tie in with our branding and VW fleet, we added a ribbon of Danish Blue. A simple but effective idea that can be used again in the future, with any colour of van.

Greener Choices

Following our office renovations at the unit last year, we decided to have solar panels fitted on the roof of our unit. We have a perfect roof; south-facing, so we get the sun for the whole working day. It was a no brainer really and not sure why we hadn’t done it years ago! We chose to change our EV charge points to ‘Zappi’ an EV wall charger compatible with solar. Again, a perfect way to help us move towards achieving carbon neutrality.  

Boosting Morale

Ensuring our team builds bonds is important to us. As a company, we always try to have a Summer ‘Do.’ This year we decided to take the team to Salisbury Races for the afternoon! We had a wonderful 3-course meal, in a room that looked out over the finish line. Lots of bets were made, some wins, some losses but many laughs had! After the lockdown, it was great to get the team all together again and see everyone have a lovely time! 

We finished off the year with an early Christmas ‘Do’. The evening started off with two games of bowling.  Although Billy came first in game one, Gary was overall the top of the league board!  Finished the night off with a lovely meal at The Libertine’s beautiful ‘Forge’. T’was a great way to finish the year!   

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