Q&A: Andy Munford

28 May 2021

Andy Munford is managing director of Shindaiwa Ltd which supplies welder/generators and site lighting equipment. The company had a record year in 2020 and is on track for further expansion. 

How’s business? 

Extremely good. Shindaiwa Ltd was established in 2010 and our tenth year of trading broke all records. This year will see even bigger growth.

What products are in particular demand? 

Our welder/generator sales remain strong and our Site Bright lighting products division continues to expand as we find new markets. These include supplying lights via our rental partners to military contractors for work inside aircraft carriers and destroyers at the Portsmouth navy base. 

What are the most recent three products/items you sold to a hirer? 

They were all part of an order of multiple ECO300 welder/generators for a national rental company.

What do you think are the main challenges facing the industry? 

New legislation such as Tier 5 engine regulations and UKCA compliance [UK Conformity Assessment, replacing CE markings] following Brexit.

What one thing would make business easier generally? 

Spending less time completing Government survey forms! For years we’ve received surveys from the Office of National Statistics that have to be filled in, on everything from international trade to environmental protection expenditure. We used to get two to three a month, but thankfully we haven’t received many recently.

What’s the most challenging order you’ve received?

In the last 12 months it was supplying nearly 10,000 temporary linkable lights for Covid testing stations throughout the UK within a very short lead time.

What annoys you? 

Bogus telephone calls telling me I have been in an accident, or that the Inland Revenue have issued a warrant against me.

What was your favourite school subject?

Metalwork. That’s how I got interested in welding and soldering. I also enjoyed woodwork and made a coffee table that is still being put to good use in my mother’s house.

How did you get into the industry? 

Many years ago, I started a career as a welding apprentice with a company called Petbow based in Sandwich, Kent. They made diesel welders and then imported a range of Mig, Tig and stick welding machines. My trainer saw I had a flair for demonstrating and selling the equipment. Years later I wanted to add a Japanese range of silenced generators that I had seen, but Petbow weren’t so keen. So eventually in 1986 two colleagues and I formed the business Arc-Gen [acquired by Morris Site Machinery in 2006] and I moved to the Midlands.

If things had been different, what other career might you have chosen?

I was the first in five generations to move away from farming in Kent, and in particular shepherding. I could well have followed my father and become a shepherd, but I’d always been keen on machinery. I used to ride my dad’s Norman Nippy moped and enjoyed working on it (to make it go faster!), so engineering always appealed.

What’s the best piece of advice that you’ve ever been given, or that you would pass on to others?

Treat everyone the same as you would like to be treated yourself.

Tell me a surprising fact about yourself.

Since I turned 50 I’ve completed six London Marathons. 

Do you follow a particular sport and/or team? 

Football - Wolverhampton Wanderers. I have followed Wolves since moving to the Midlands. There have been many highs and lows, and I’m looking forward to our fourth consecutive season of Premiership football – and it was wonderful returning to the Molineux Stadium recently to watch live games again. 

What new skill would you like to learn?

To speak Spanish well. We go on holiday there every year (apart from 2020, of course) and I always pick up something of the language while we’re there, but promptly forget it again. 

What’s the secret of success? 

To treat customers properly and provide an exceptional level of service throughout the business.

What would you do if you won the lottery?

Expand Shindaiwa Ltd further and quicker. And buy a villa in Spain! 

What’s your favourite music? 

An eclectic choice from The Love Affair in the seventies to Rod Stewart and Texas, but the biggest favourite has to be Led Zeppelin.

Any future developments we can expect? 

We’re looking forward to the next 12 months as we continue to grow and add a number of new products to our range. We believe we will be the first company to introduce a hybrid welder/generator to the UK market early in 2022.