Tony Evans

3G was established in 1995 to deliver professional interim executive services and related change management consultancy to organisations. Assignments, lasting between 6 months and 2 years typically, have delivered significant value added at CEO/MD level. Details are available at www.the3graces.co.uk

Clients use the interim practitioner usually where major change is required. Circumstances successfully handled vary from true turnaround, through re-structuring and on to profitable growth.

Operating in often complex and potentially stressful circumstances on an international basis and across a variety of industries, the unusual blend of corporate career experience gained in organisations such as the Mars Group, Digital Equipment Co. and Courtaulds Ltd. allows effective financial improvement to be achieved, often achieving a 10-fold return on investment.

I worked in the Middle East with one of the company's subsidiaries, to improve operating performance in the face of steeply rising raw material costs and non optimal manufacturing facilities. The business is in the agri-food sector; the products are branded and well recognised in their home market.

Work is now completed. Annual savings of over $US4.6M made. A new power plant 25 year contract was agreed, producing an additional $10M/year.

Founder member of a small team of independent turnaround professionals bringing third party deep operational experience to assess risk to bank lending positions under a blanket NDA.

• Provided HSBC clients ‘Concern List’ study (mid-mkt; range of sectors): total £1BN t/o.
• Ran Operational Due Diligence on a £200M+ t/o client for a 30-fold lending uplift.
• Embedded clearer understanding of HSBC/client needs & expectations to enable progress

P.& L. accountable, with c.2000 people working across c.20 sites & 28 legal entities, delivering chilled, frozen, ambient & humidity controlled product, shipped by rail & road to clients including: Tesco, Somerfield, Morrisons, B. Matthews, Brake Bros. Nestle, Corus & Grampian.

• Achieved ‘soft landing’ administration, with £103m+ greater creditor value v. forced sale
• Enabled successful completion of 4 parallel sales processes; 2 via ‘pre-pack’.
• Delivered full recovery to secured creditors (RBS £7.5m; Glitnir £10m)
• Made £6.4m funds available for preferred (£0.3m) & unsecured creditors (£19.6m)
• Secured 1900+ employees’ jobs via TUPE to the new business owners.
• Managed smooth handover to administrator in waiting (BDO).

A c. £55m sales, complex specialist vehicle parts distribution & workshop servicing company with 53 branches nationwide. Private Equity funded (NBGI), serving a range of aftermarket clients including: the AA, Hewden Plant Hire, Stagecoach, MOD, BT, BNFL & the RNLI.

P. & L. accountability, with c. 700 people delivering parts & specialist servicing to a range of vehicle aftermarket sectors including: CV, PSV, plant, automotive, roadside rescue, marine, etc.

Major achievements:

• Increased Net Worth to £3.5m from previous year’s near negative value
• Improved PBT from (£1679k) to (£920k) & PBIT from (£837k) to (£416k) in 10 months
• Enhanced W.C. usage: 61→55 Debtor days, 120→103 creditor days, 30% stock turn uplift
• Grew sales per head from £71.3k → £80.6k in 10 months
• Reduced headcount from 717 → 685, & strengthened line management in parallel
• Re-structured the board to enable the required turn round.
• Funded crucial IT systems expenditure (c. £0.75m)

A £105m sales AIM listed engineering group focussing on the hydraulics sector, suffering from low share price and market capitalisation, requiring urgent turn round attention.

Major achievments:

• Attracted c. £10m ‘packaged’ receivership, 100% pension/creditor commitment.
• Built group wide supply chain approach reducing costs by at least £3m

The UK's professional institute for Interim Practitioners - recognised as the pre-eminent body for quality standards of accreditation, professional development and best practice, and leading the development of Interim Management in the UK and internationally. website www.ioim.org.uk

The role of Chairman is an honorary one. Membership is acredited. I have been a member for over 6 years and recommend joining to any professional interim.

A c.£150m sales, 3rd party logistics Co., part of RAC plc & then acquired by AVIVA plc. Based on 3 sites (2 UK + Metz, France), with c.£32m C.E., serving principally vehicle aftermarket clients.

P. & L. accountability, with 350 people marketing & delivering full service offerings including; parts procurement & supply, w.c. ownership, cataloguing, marketing support, etc. Clients include Hyundai, LDV, Leyland, Fleetguard, Dennis Eagle and Tesco.

Major achievements:

• Secured £13.5m terminal bonus via Leyland contract repatriation to Paccar Inc.
• Established £20m programme site move, releasing £13m cash & £1.4m/yr cost savings
• Delivered £3m stock reduction & £1.9m cost savings thro’ 6-σ based re-engineering projects
• Won £6m new business at the margin level & £19m new margin pipeline for the next 2 years
• Achieved ‘world class’ service level, enabling £5.5m more margin uplift from current clients
• Delivered planned Operating Profit, month on month.
• Reduced headcount by 19% with union agreement

An £80m sales business bought by the privately owned “Apeejay Surrendra Group” of India from Premier Foods plc. At a purchase price of c.£85m, this was the 6th largest foreign investment in Indian corporate history.

Provided immediate pre & post acquisition leadership to establish the independent business.

A Є200m+ sales JV group, with Tate & Lyle plc, Saint Louis Sucre & Sűdzucker A.G. as major shareholders. Formed from businesses privatised during the 1990s, with fixed assets of c.Є85m and based in Hungary, Slovakia and the Czech Republic, each serving nominally regulated markets leading up to EU Accession, supplying international retail and industrial clients.

P. & L. accountability, with 1100+ people producing & marketing sugar & bi-products produced from sugar beet. In the top 3 companies in each country market, with > 27% share in each case.

Major achievements:

• Asked to return as cover for my successor due to a severe car accident
• Financial restructuring, with new bank facilities (Є36m) and JV shareholder equity (Є12m)
• Turned round the group, PBIT Є13.5m ahead of plan
• Czech Republic (CR) business cash burn reduced from Є1.5m/mth to zero
• Initiated several legal actions in CR against fraudulent & corrupt activity, valued c.Є100m
• Strengthened senior management teams in each country
• Achieved 21% RONA in Slovakia and 9% RONA in Hungary
• Secured clean, accurate & timely financial reporting, to IAS requirements
• Є13m ‘old debt’ court case resolved out of court for Є2m

A $250m+ sales holding company with closed & openly quoted businesses on the Romanian stock exchange ( RASDAQ ). The national tyre industry was privatised in 1997 as Tofan Grup with Nomura (Investment) Bank being the major equity shareholder. Fixed assets were c.$500m, across 4 production sites, an R.& D. facility, a transportation company & a national distributor network.

P. & L. accountability, with 6000 people marketing & producing radial & cross ply tyres for the automotive, agricultural & industrial sectors. Products ranged from a few kilos to c.2t with over 70% being exported. Principal overseas sales were to N. America, W. Europe & the Middle East.

Major achievements:

• Built a strong team of young Romanian professionals to take the business forward
• Re-structured the group for successful sale ( in 3 parts )
• Achieved a $20m reduction in shortfall between liabilities & current assets
• Established tight $ based financial controls in accordance with IAS
• Lifted export sales to best ever month on month ( +15% ) at increased prices ( ave.+2-3% )
• Revolutionised product conformance, raising 1st. Quality from 85% to 96% in 4 months
• Reduced headcount with union agreement by c.15% in the group turn round final phase
• Secured material supply & quality at lower prices whilst dealing with $10m old debt
• Outsourced domestic tyre distribution of c. $8m & all product transportation of c. $7m

Part of the international, £300m+ sales Acertec Group. Major UK producer of cold drawn steel wires for bedding, seating, lighting, cotton & fasteners markets world wide. Largest UK industrial nails producer. Sales rising to c.£45m from a 400,000sq. ft. factory on c.22acre (8.8ha) site.

P. & L. accountability, with c.200 people marketing & manufacturing 100,000+t/yr steel wire, including multi & single hole drawing, cold heading, fully coppered, electro galvanised & baling wires. Products include nails, ‘Quicklink’ baling wire, flat & shaped wires & bright bar.

Major achievements:

• Integration project from closing sister site with £1.5m Capex, lifting sales 30% in 4 mths
• Managed c.7% price rise into the key market for the site with no loss of market share
• Improved site productivity c. 33% for the core processes.
• Confirmed £250k OP in First half, cf. £2.75m loss in previous year.
• Fostered a change to a customer relationship approach
• Achieved a negative working capital position.

Internationally recognised volumetric deposition & related capital equipment producer. Part of GEI International plc with sales of c.£85m in food, pharmaceutical & industrial markets.

P. & L. accountability, with c.85 people on 2 sites using a full range of engineering workshop skills for capital goods production.

Major achievements:

• Delivered a 3-fold increase in O.P. in the second half of the financial year
• Produced a low risk 3 year plan, giving 300%+ increase in O.P. over the current year
• Created a new company direction, doubling size in 3 years
• Re-structured the company into focussed, proactive, tightly controlled business streams
• Identified & implemented a major change programme of 15 significant projects
• Inculcated a ‘can do’ problem solving approach replacing the old blame culture
• Achieved largest ever single sale of an initial £0.75m

Most respected manufacturer of domestic security systems in its UK market. With sales of £24+m. & part of Channel Holdings plc. Other markets served include: retail, cosmetics, white goods & niche lighting.

P. & L. accountability with c.250 people based on 4 sites, having power cable production, injection moulding, tool making, printing, PCB population & electronic assembly line technologies.

Major achievments:

• Increased profit from 1.6% to 7.6% R.O.S. & 5% to 26.4% R.O.N.A. in year 1.
• Cultivated board level client relationships, securing £8m+ sales, & larger future prospects
• Achieved cable sales organic growth of 45%, with an FMCG approach
• Led a £0.5m capital & acquisition programme to give a £15m t/o cable business in 1 year.
• Established a new ‘Retail Solutions’ P.O.S. display business, with c.£6m sales in year 1.
• Gave firm financial leadership, restructuring the company into 4 distinct business units
• Implemented a stock reduction of £1m, lifting stock turns to 15
• Delivered offshore outsourcing programme for £1m electronics with Hong Kong/China
• Initiated supplier rationalisation projects, with associated purchasing savings of 10%
• Set up joint commercial operation with new Group Italian company, of £7m. sales.

Largest UK FMCG manufacturer of ‘own label’ disposable nappies, with c.£20m. sales

Responsible for business review & implementing agreed strategic changes to achieve positive cash flow & profit. Accountable for c.175 people in all value added logistics & production operations from material sourcing to customer service, distributing to home & export markets.

Major Achievements:

• Rebuilt the management team to bring the company to profitability
• Set up systems to improve material supply chain & manufacturing cost controls
• Gained a 6% reduction in the £11m purchasing budget in the first 6 months
• Made a 23% process utilisation improvement in the first 6 months
• Reduced short deliveries from 14% to <1% in 3 months
• Gained £0.6m/yr. savings from improved product recovery levels & work flows project
• Reduced stock holding by £0.42m (35%) & controlled stock turns to 26
• Initiated fully cost allocated Trainer Pants business unit with 35% utilisation break even

UK based, international plastics moulding business with sales of £500m, with key markets in: automotive, telecomms, packaging, retail, I.T., white goods, & power tools sectors.

As Divisional Director:
Multi site responsibility for Marketing, Business Development, Human Resource & Information Systems. A total of 11 sites, employing 1500 people.

• Set up MRP II systems programme on 5 sites, controlling work & freeing £1.3m in year 1
• Restructured £10m sales site, changing business practices & removing 100 people
• Instilled a creed of continuous improvement giving savings of £0.5m in the first year
• Established all functions from a greenfield situation
• Developed new integrated approach to corporate planning for 3 operating divisions
• Initiated & brought ‘Firetrace’ product project to commercial launch

As Managing Director – Scottish Operations (turn round project)
P. & L. accountability, responsible for re-engineering the Scottish business; implementing a survival plan & then setting direction for sales lifting from £3.5m to £30m profitably.

• Rebuilt the management team to ensure organic growth
• Reduced direct workforce by 50% & made major changes to factory layout & work flows
• Won crucial orders from customers to provide half of future sales
• Installed new accounting & production control systems, including Kanban techniques
• Identified an acquisition of £11m sales, broadening the technology & customer base

A major computer solutions provider with sales of $15bn & employing 120,000 people world wide, including 53,000 graduate I.T. engineers. World’s largest supplier of networked distributed computer systems to governments & multi national corporations.

Major achievements:

• Established strategy & structure for the new £1bn t/o Service Industries Centre.
• Set up & ran a senior management development programme for 104 key people.
• Guided the complete reorganisation of the International Systems Engineering group, responsible for all product internationalisation

A £400M turnover international food company employing 2000 people. The privately owned worldwide Mars Group is a best in class FMCG business, distributing to global retail markets.

Other positions held were Technical Personnel Manager and Research & Manufacturing Dev’t Manager.

Major achievements in the period:

• Devised the Bounty ice cream concept & delivered Maltesers & Bounty 3 year strategies
• Set up & used review centres, planning development & succession for 90 R & D staff
• Major capital projects commissioned (£10m+) & delivered Galaxy 3 year plan

An international £2bn turnover chemicals & textiles company employing 45000 people.

Role was to manage the company's carbon fibre precursor production plant, all acrylic polymer and fibre pilot plant facilities, provide technical and quality support to company acrylic and modacrylic production units, provide product and process development activity to the Courtelle Operating Division.

Major achievement:

• Launched Courtelle ‘S’ project successfully & made material cost savings of £1.2m/yr