The recent relocation of PRG's main UK office from the former bus garage at Coventry Road in Birmingham, to a parts depot originally built for Rover Group at Longbridge has been just such an operation.
Nimble on its feet for such a large company, the rest of the touring production industry barely noticed the shift as Company MD Dave Keighley explained. "The move to new premises offered us the opportunity to make major improvements to the way we work and to our working environment. At over 165,000 square feet, this is a building with enormous potential; so yes, we did indeed to spend time planning how we wanted the building the work. But one of PRG's great strengths is its speed and flexibility, so we made the transition with that premise in mind."
As well as drawing on experience gained from similar moves implemented at two of PRG's major US depots, Keighley also charged Birmingham Operations Manager, Nigel Taylor with a remit to completely re-examine every aspect of the Company's operational activity.
"I co-opted Robin Wain, one of our leading Project Managers," explained Taylor. "Between us we polled opinion from employees in all departments; everything from Accounts to Xenon Service. From the moment we started right up to the present, one of the great things about this process has been the enthusiasm it has generated throughout the company as people begin to realise the potential."
The enthusiasm is still palpable four months after the move, as Keighley confirmed. "In essence Nigel's research taught us to implement a plan that made us fully operational immediately, but allowed us to make incremental changes as we all adjusted to the nuances of the new building. Every department is experiencing that now, nothing is set in stone and everyone is seeing ways to make this place even better. That's a great motivator, and that's what we wanted the move to be. The thing to remember is this; last summer we experienced one of the most intense periods of our history with simultaneous shows for Ricky Martin, Rod Stewart, Aerosmith, Pearl Jam, Ozzie Osborne, The Rolling Stones, Tori Amos, The Artic Monkeys, The Who, Prince, Take That and Swan Lake to name just a few, all facilitated by our team at the old bus garage. Imagine what they can achieve here.
Longbridge is going to be our home for many years to come so the time we spend now, making sure we get it right for our clients, and for everybody who works here, is time well spent."
The company's new address is: Crofton Centre, Groveley Lane, Longbridge B31 4PT
(Claire Beeson)
