Events season is well and truly underway, with the Ford & Stanley team enjoying a fantastic, albeit rather hectic few weeks, attending industry networking events and catching up with clients across the rail sector and beyond. It has also expanded – again – as we welcome new additions to the team, reflecting a period of continued growth and further wins. Here’s the rundown of what we’ve been up to, and a taster of what’s coming up as we head into Spring. . .
RIN London Event
We headed down South to the Business Design Centre in Islington on 5 March to attend Rail Infrastructure Networking London, the first RIN Event of the year. And thanks to copious amounts of free breakfast, tea and coffee, attended by Ford & Stanley’s Becca Stanton it was a day of networking and meeting up with familiar faces, as the rail infrastructure industry were brought together in one room to grow their businesses.
Last year’s RIN London attracted 150 exhibitors and 1080 visitors, with 685 rail companies represented . . . and this year’s numbers looked close to that again, if not more!
As well as being a great platform to connect with everyone across the sector, the event also boasted an excellent line-up of speakers from across the industry, diving into the challenges and opportunities of Continued Service Operation—from asset management to maintenance strategies and innovation.
Two days of magical mayhem: Shrovetide
The Ford & Stanley team paid its annual homage to Shrove Tuesday with the welcome return of Royal Shrovetide Football.
The weather was glorious for early March, making a pleasant change from the wintry conditions as of late. We kickstarted the day at Seven Restaurant with around 37 guests enjoying a hearty breakfast, before heading over to Ashbourne ahead of the afternoon’s proceedings, which were hosted by our very own Dan Taylor.
For those unfamiliar with the event, Shrovetide takes place every year in one of our county’s most historic market towns, which is famous, among other things, for its ancient tradition of Royal Shrovetide Football (originating from medieval times, no less). The game is considered the last remaining example of mass football and is one of the few events of its kind still held annually on the streets of the UK.
Here are a few facts for those non-locals perhaps unfamiliar with Shrovetide:
- It has an unconventional format: forget about goalposts and boundaries – in Ashbourne, the entire town transforms into a playground! With minimal rules, the two goals are three miles apart and the game sprawls across streets, fields, the river and even car parks.
- It lasts longer than your average football match: the game takes place over two days, over two eight-hour periods.
- It fosters great team spirit: the town divides into two teams – the Up’ards and the Down’ards (depending on what side of the River Henmore you were born!).
- It’s not like the modern game: the ball is larger than a normal football, made from leather and filled with cork (to help keep it afloat).
This year was another absolute gem with the usual amount of mud and fun thrown in. Long may the tradition continue, as we already look forward to the 2026 instalment . . .
New starters and shifters
Ford & Stanley Talent Services Group has further strengthened its recruitment team with four key appointments designed to enhance service delivery across key sectors.
Daniel McKeown joins as a Senior Recruitment Consultant in the Interim team, and we welcome Sam Lucas into the permanent recruitment division. Psychology graduate Falak Farooq comes onboard as a Recruitment Consultant and Tilia Kozluk takes on her role as Recruitment Administrator. Tom Sellars also joins as Senior Recruitment Consultant in Ford & Stanley
The company’s internal promotions see Mia Pashley’s advancement from Trainee Recruitment Consultant to Recruitment Consultant—a testament to her rapid adaptation and contribution within just six months at Ford & Stanley. Sadie Crossley also moves to Compliance & Contracts Coordinator.
Congratulations all and we’re delighted to add yet more new members to the family. We cannot wait to see you flourish in your new positions!
1,500 new trees for our Conservation Meadow
Spring has now sprung, which means milder weather, the great outdoors and natural awakenings once again. And what better way for us to experience this than at Ford & Stanley’s Conservation Meadow, our 3-acre local conservation site dedicated to the restoration of natural habitats.
One of our biggest achievements at the meadow over the past year has been the planting of 1,500 hedgerow trees. In December last year, a team of five from Ford & Stanley spent a day onsite to plant more than 150 metres of hedgerow boundary, including blackthorn and hawthorn. An arduous task without doubt, but nonetheless a rewarding one, as we look forward to seeing the fruits of the team’s labour blossom (literally) in the years to come.
So as the daffodils shoot out of the ground and the thermometer creeps into double figures at long last, here’s to more wildlife future proofing and team bonding over the next year. Watch this space for more exciting developments soon . . .
Rail Forum hold Focus on Freight joint event
RFG and Rail Forum hosted a joint Focus on Freight event on 13 March, which welcomed key stakeholders from across the industry including Transport Committee member Catherine Atkinson MP for Derby North.
The event, organised by Rail Forum, included a packed programme of fantastic speakers.
They covered a wide range of topics, with Maggie Simpson OBE, RFG Director General, beginning by outlining the political and commercial environment.
Some of the team were in attendance, and afterwards were treated to a visit to Tarmac’s Mountsorrel Quarry with other delegates. What a change of scenery from the office!
Cross-Sector Battery Showcase 2025 – Advancing Innovation Across Industries
Following the success of its inaugural showcase event in March 2024, the Cross-Sector Battery Systems Innovation Network held its second in-person industry showcase on 19 March in Leicester.
With the community having now reached over 5,000 members, the event provided a unique opportunity to meet new partners and collaborators across the battery ecosystem. It was also the ideal stage to bring together representatives of the whole battery supply chain together with a diverse range of cross-sector markets (aerospace, defence, maritime, rail and automotive).
The team went along and were buoyed by the fact that innovation in battery systems is on an upwards trajectory, as more sectors embrace the potential of battery technologies and unleash electrification strategies, which means more career opportunities and jobs being created as demand surges.
CTP Employment Fair: an upskilling opportunity
The team hit Bristol on 20 March on behalf of client CAF for the CTP Employment Fair. This year’s event welcomed more than 100 exhibitors and around 500 ex-Service leavers, where everyone engaged in a valuable day of networking, job searching, identifying training options and catching up with colleagues.
It was extremely encouraging to see so many people there interested in transitioning from the military and seeking a new career, all being given the opportunity to connect with employers from across the country and locally, as the venue was packed with exhibitors eager to discuss their skills.
Each year, there are more than 14,000 skilled and experienced individuals who finish their service in the Armed Forces and look to transition into civilian careers. Rail is one such sector presenting a great chance for ex-forces to harness their skills, especially in technical areas, and embark on an exciting new career path. Ford & Stanley has helped place a large number of ex-forces into new roles in rail over the past year, and demand for their skills shows no signs of stopping as rail firms like CAF harness this rounded, cross-sector talent to seize the advantage.
Comic Relief 2025
For Comic Relief 2025, Ford & Stanley wanted to do something different to support those in need, focusing on issues like food insecurity and homelessness locally.
Ford & Stanley employees raised £170 to contribute to a local food bank, Derby City Mission. Ford & Stanley’s Isabella Bramall and Sadie Crossley collected and purchased food donations and delivered them to site at the Mission.
A rewarding experience to see first-hand the incredible work they are doing to support those in need.
Next month . . .
The team will be headed for the Houses of Parliament no less on 28 April, as Rail Forum’s annual Parliamentary Reception will welcome delegates from across the industry as well as guest speakers including Lord Hendy, Minister for Rail and Sir Andrew Haines, Chief Executive at Network Rail, among others.
If you’d like to find out how we got on, along with keeping abreast of all our other latest news and developments, you can sign up to receive our monthly newsletter, ‘In Motion’, as well as connect with us on LinkedIn.
