MORSON SPONSORSHIP NEWS | 3 MIN READ Morson sponsored Force Atlantic embark on their 3,000 mile race across the Atlantic to Antigua Each team will row in excess of 1.5 million oar strokes throughout the course of the journey 30 teams are participating from around the world Morson are proud to be the prime sponsor of the British Army’s Force Atlantic team in the Atlantic Challenge rowing race who start their epic row from the Canary Islands today! The premier event in ocean rowing, the Atlantic Challenge is a 3,000 mile row from San Sebastian in La Gomera, Canary Islands, to Nelson’s Dockyard, English Harbour, Antigua & Barbuda. The race takes place annually, with 30 teams participating from around the world. Morson’s inspiration for sponsorship of the Atlantic Challenge was two-fold. “Firstly, the company have a long track record of sponsoring athletes in various sports but until now, not rowing. Secondly and crucially, the commander of the Force Atlantic team, Lieutenant Colonel Rich Hall MBE, is the Commanding Officer of the Army Foundation College in Harrogate, the only Junior Entry Phrase 1 training establishment in the British Army.” The college provides long-term educational opportunities for young people from a variety of backgrounds, providing personal development and equipping them with leadership skills to succeed in life, either within or beyond the military. “This provides a diverse talent pool for the Army to draw from. Ultimately, this in turn improves the quality of our Morson Forces contractor base when those from the College leave the military and are looking for their next career move.” The Row Alongside the commander Lieutenant Colonel Rich Hall, the team consists of Captain Alex Walsh, Captain Chris Hames and the youngest of the team and a recent College Junior Solider graduate, Private Kian Helm. Captain Chris Hames, whose 30 years in the army includes 20 years with the Royal Army Physical Training Corps, spoke about the make-up of the diverse team and the race ahead. “The rank and age gap haven't been without issue. It's taken time for us to get to know each other, understand our strengths and areas where we need to support each other. There's a healthy respect for each other's experience and simply no other words needed.” To successfully complete the voyage in good time, the crew must be able to work together and harness each other’s skills and traits. “We all have our strengths which will help us massively. Kian is a great joker and keeps morale high. Skipper Rich is excellent at taking everything in and suggesting perfect plans and while I have a knack of problem solving when needed, Alex tempers my ‘just do it’ approach with analytical thinking.” With little under four months to go, the crew have been training hard to prepare for this huge undertaking. “The training has been both physically and mentally challenging, as you would expect. We have been concentrating on core, posterior chain exercises and of course rowing, both long steady distance and benchmark setting. The hardest benchmark setting to date is 90 minutes full effort on an indoor rower. That’s enough to put most people off!” As well as physical sessions on dry land, the team have to spend time out on the boat to get used to the conditions in which they will be working. Among the many dangers on the route, including 20ft waves, the team battle against the physical extremes faced by participating in such a long and strenuous challenge like salt sores and sleep deprivation. “Easily the toughest actual session so far was our recent three-day trip out in the boat. We went through all the drills as we will in real time and our return leg saw us fighting the tide and wind. It was hard and painful. It was the crew spending in excess of five hours constantly rowing and was absolutely what we needed to really test us.” It is estimated that each team will row in excess of 1.5 million oar strokes throughout the course of the journey. The team rely on a desalination device on board the boat to purify sea water for drinking. It’s estimated that each of the three crew members will burn between 5,000 and 10,000 calories a day, and so the dehydrated rations on board are high in calorific content, if low on taste. “They’re not too bad but they’ll quickly become boring. We do have snacks to dip into to break up the monotony of the rations.” For around six weeks, the three-man crew will live a life of strict and tiring routine – two hours rowing, two hours off, 24 hours a day. “It’s very tough but it’s something that we will adjust to. We’ll probably manage six hours sleep per day because certainly some of our two hours off will involve personal and boat maintenance.” Over €6 million has been raised for charity over the course of the last four races, but the members of the crew are all driven to make the row a huge success for other reasons. “We all have our own personal agenda, but more importantly we have a collective objective. As well as our key objective to raise money for The Soldier’s Charity, we want to show the Army as a professional organisation who have the best build up and delivery of all the teams.” Tied into this message is one about the value of ex-forces veterans in the world beyond the military, as Chris reflects. “Often, serving personnel may not see the value they hold to employers - simply by being disciplined enough to turn up to work on time and work hard. Also, often if veterans are leaving the services young, having a mortgage and paying bills are alien concepts and will be a real shock. Every bit of help provided is gold dust and in particular Morson's help in the transition process provides that comfort blanket and ensures individuals are not alone in realising their worth as they transition into civilian life.” As for what happens when the Force Atlantic team transition across the ocean and finally reaches Antigua: “I can't speak for the whole team but I suspect I will simply want to walk on the land, have space to move, a beer… oh and sleep!” We wish the team good luck and a safe and speedy journey! We'll be posting regular updates on their progress so come back to the blog for the latest info. Follow the race live!
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MORSON SPORT | 3 MIN READ We caught up with Sale Sharks' World Cup stars to hear their stories from Japan! Fresh from the World Cup, Morson’s Jamal Niaz hosted a star-studded panel at Sale Sharks' supporters club featuring Faf de Klerk, Tom Curry, Mark Wilson and Valery Morozov. This marked the World Cup debuts of all four men and it was Faf De Klerk’s South Africa that were ultimately crowned winners after a tense final with Tom Curry’s England. Faf De Klerk: Realising a childhood dream by winning the World Cup will undoubtedly be the highlight of Faf’s career but the Scrum-Half isn’t short of motivation going forward despite now reaching his crowning achievement: “It’s any boy’s dream to win a World Cup. Staying motivated is quite easy, there’s still a lot of goals we want to achieve as a team and a club so the focus is right back onto that. We want to succeed and make the supporters proud. There’s a lot of targets to reach yet. I want to win the Premiership and the Champions Cup, so they’re things I’ve got to tick off. As a rugby player you always want to perform well, it’s about getting new goals and reaching them” Being on the cusp of achieving a career goal brings the danger of not truly experiencing the moment, due to being fixated with the task at hand. This was something that De Klerk actively combatted during the tournament and made sure to be completely present during the final itself: “At the World Cup when I ran out, I always tried to get a sense of the crowd and really take in what’s around me. I do remember it really well, much better than Tom! What a massive occasion it was, it was truly special” One of the most memorable pictures of the World Cup was Faf’s celebration in his now iconic South African themed speedos and the following meeting between himself and Prince Harry whilst wearing the attire. This image saw Faf launch a cancer awareness challenge known as the ‘Faf Challenge’ encouraging his supporters to screen themselves for testicular cancer. De Klerk reflected on the picture and getting to meet Prince Harry: “I popped out to get an X-Ray and he was there. He had a great speech for us and I got to meet him. I was the only guy caught but the rest of the team were in the same outfit! Something good came from it so it was nice” Tom Curry: 2019 proved to be a breakout one for 21-year old Tom Curry, with eye-catching displays in the Six-Nations and World Cup that saw him nominated for world player of the year. With Tom currently preparing for his 28th game of a crazy year, this panel event served as one of the few opportunities that the Flanker could look back on what he’s achieved in his young career so far: “This year’s been a bit of a whirlwind. I’ve obviously experienced things for the first time such as the Six Nations and The World Cup. It’s been unbelievable, you don’t actually notice what’s happening during the whole process, it’s only when you look back at times like these. It’s been an unreal year to look back on and some brilliant learning experiences to look back on going forward” It’s clear that a manic schedule is something that Curry has always thrived in, as his rise was filled with transitions through the ranks at a ridiculously rapid rate: “Having my brother alongside me and training nearly every day, things go by so quickly that you don’t have time to think about it. Going straight from school to Sale FC to Sharks and getting the call to Argentina with England, you don’t really stop and think. One of the biggest things as a professional sportsman is to stop and take things in and I should probably pinch myself along the way.” Learning to unwind away from the sport is something that Tom is still learning to do with consistent success for club and country: “It’s something you probably get better at with experience. You learn about yourself more and you learn how to get your mind and body in the best position to play rugby. When you’re younger coming through you’ve got to do this and that but as you get older, you play week in and week out and that’s when you start learning” Tom and Sharks teammate, Faf have faced each other on the international stage numerous times, with most games featuring a heated moment between the two. Curry addressed the healthy rivalry between the two and clearly enjoys the competition: “On the summer tour we had at least two and then obviously in the big game in the final but we’re both pretty natural players for a scuffle, he loves it! I lose my head easily and he finds it easy to make players lose their heads, we’re a natural couple” Mark Wilson: New Sharks signee, Mark Wilson was an integral part of the England side that reached the World Cup final both on and off the field. Wilson was full of praise of the togetherness and spirit in the England camp in Japan: “One thing that we had an emphasis on throughout the tournament is the team of 31 players. There was a real appreciation between the lads that were playing and the lads that weren’t, as the lads that weren’t playing would help the rest of the team in training day by day. Tom and the other guys who were playing day by day and were coming into training tired sometimes, it was our job to lift them up” Wilson hadn’t featured since the group stage prior to coming off the bench in the memorable win against New Zealand and the 30-year-old was more than ready for the occasion: “When you get the call for the semi- final obviously it gets exciting to get involved. I hadn’t played in about four weeks so I had about four weeks of engine in me for that game! Mark’s debut from Sale is currently on hold due to injury but gave an update on when we can expect to see him at the AJ Bell: “Hopefully in the new year, towards the end of January I should be able to play. It’s been an exciting couple of weeks being down here for the first time, being able to meet the boys so we’re itching to get involved” Valery Morozov: Progression from the stacked Pool A was always going to be extremely difficult for Russia, but representing his country on the world stage was an immensely proud moment for Valery: “I was very proud for my country because it was only our second time at a world cup. We only play 3-4 times a year with Russia and we play every week at Sale so I’d like to thank Sale for helping me as a player” It was brilliant to hear each player's story from the World Cup and we can't wait to see how their season unfolds with Sale!
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Morson Group has been celebrating 50 years in business in 2019. As part of our celebrations, we’ve created a book about the business; its foundations, its growth and its people. We've been releasing excerpts from the book - in part nine, we pay tribute to our late founder Gerry Mason. Retirement In 1998, Gerry Mason retired after almost 30 years in the driving seat. His successor would be his son Ged, who officially took over as Managing Director in 1999, to become CEO in 2005. On his first day in the Managing Director’s office, he felt very comfortable. “It wasn’t like a big bang or a huge announcement,” he recalls. “It had been a gradual handover, I was effectively mirroring what dad was doing and making more important decisions, so it wasn’t as a big a step as you’d think. It was a natural evolvement, I felt ready for it, I had the confidence then.” Of course, Gerry was still in the picture. “Dad was still on the phone to talk about big things I was doing and I could always bounce off him; it was great having someone like that,” says Ged. “It’s funny, having shared the office with my father at Stableford Hall, I still remained at my desk. Dad had the bigger desk and I had a slightly smaller one and just out of respect I didn’t go and sit at his.” Because Gerry still maintained a position on the board, Ged’s decision not to use his father’s desk meant he always had one to come back to. “He’d come back in the summer and might be in the office two or three times. So that desk was always kept for him, to a point where we were really struggling for space,” remembers Ged. “Eventually Kevin Gorton, who was Business Development Director at the time, came in and used my dad’s desk. Even so, I still didn’t use it, meaning I ended up sharing an office with Kevin for a while. Good times.” Remembering the Don On 24th July 2015, Gerry Mason passed away suddenly at the age of 77. Speaking for our special 50th anniversary video, employees of the Morson Group paid tribute: “It was great to eventually share on office with my father for 12 years plus. Having worked around the different parts of the business there was no better grounding and apprenticeship to serve than with my father. He taught me a lot.” - Ged Mason, CEO “As Gerry remained on the board, I’d see him every single month anyway and he’d always want to catch up and be kept in the loop about what was happening, what was in the pipeline. He remained driven and actively involved, despite retiring.” – Kevin Gorton, Managing Director “I always liked his taste in decorating. He always had a knee-deep shag pile carpet in some odd colour. That was always interesting going into his office and thinking, is this the latest fashion?” – Andy Hassall, Morson Projects “Big black Cadillac parked outside, cigar smoke, golf ball on his desk, moustache. You could see he was an entrepreneur, a business man, successful and had a vision.” - Steve Seddon, Client Services Director While Gerry may no longer be with us, his spirit certainly carries on within the business, and that we can look forward to a bright and promising future is testament to not only his vision, but the hundreds of employees who have all worked towards this success. Watch our video, 'No Finish Line: The Story So Far' and hear the Morson story as told by those who have been part of it
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AEROSPACE NEWS | 3 MIN READ An all-electric powered seaplane has taken flight in Vancouver, Canada, in what the operators describe as a "world-first" for the aviation industry. Harbour Air has said that they are aiming to fly passengers abroad on fully electric planes starting from 2021. An all-electric powered seaplane has taken flight in Vancouver, Canada, in what the operators describe as a "world-first" for the aviation industry. The flight took place on Tuesday 10th December, it was carried out by magniX and Harbour Air which ferries half a million passengers a year between Vancouver, Whistler ski resort and nearby islands and coastal communities. The 15-minute test flight involved a six-passenger DHC-2 de Havilland Beaver with a 750-horsepower (560 kW) magni500 propulsion system. Civil aviation is one of the fastest-growing sources of carbon emissions as people increasingly take to the skies, and new technologies have been slow to get off the ground. The push to electric could help slash carbon emissions in the high-polluting aviation sector. CEO of magniX, Roei Ganzarski said: "In December 1903, the Wright Brothers launched a new era of transportation—the aviation age—with the first flight of a powered aircraft. Today, 116 years later, with the first flight of an all-electric powered commercial aircraft, we launched the electric era of aviation. The transportation industry and specifically the aviation segment that has been, for the most part, stagnant since the late 1930s, is ripe for a massive disruption. Now we are proving that low-cost, environmentally friendly, commercial electric air travel can be a reality in the very near future." Catch up on the latest Aerospace news Air Canada retires Boeing 767 after an amazing 139,000 hours of flight Qantas fly non-stop from London to Sydney in new research programme Greg McDougall, CEO, and founder of Harbour Air, which is one of North America's largest seaplane airlines, said in a statement: "Today, we made history. I am incredibly proud of Harbour Air's leadership role in redefining safety and innovation in the aviation and seaplane industry. Canada has long held an iconic role in the history of aviation, and to be part of this incredible world-first milestone is something we can all be really proud of.” Check out the video of the flight below Harbour Air has said that they are aiming to fly passengers abroad on fully electric planes starting from 2021. Morson is the No.1 aerospace recruiter, supplying the aerospace and defence industry for 50 years. Ready to find your next role? Search our Aerospace & Defence jobs here.
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THOUGHT LEADERSHIP | 2 MIN READ By now we’re all familiar with the notion of aligning values within an organisation, but what about the importance of ensuring that your company values are strategically aligned to your customers? Sam Price, head of client engagement at Morson provides an insight into the importance of aligning customer and company values and the benefits it can bring… By now we’re all familiar with the notion of aligning values within an organisation, but what about the importance of ensuring that your company values are strategically aligned to your customers? Sam Price, head of client engagement at Morson has delivered a programme of transformational change across the Morson Group, enhancing how the business embrace and achieve the objectives of its core values. Within our latest blog, Sam provides an insight into the importance of aligning customer and company values and the benefits it can bring… Encourages better partnerships and collaboration There is no denying that when strong and sustainable values are put in place, it creates a value-friendly work environment where everyone is aligned to the same strategic goal. The end result, projects and programmes are delivered on time and on budget. When we work on change programmes, our discovery programme has stakeholder engagement at its core. We quickly identify the people needed from Morson and our clients that have the attributes and skills required to deliver transformational change. A team who work in pro-active collaboration, underpinned by a set of agreed behaviours ensures that the difficulties often associated with new solutions are quickly resolved. This promotes enhanced collaboration throughout the project. Increased quality, productivity and efficiency At the start of any change programme, we outline the measures for success and the operating model – focusing on roles, responsibilities, values and working behaviours. Once we have this, we then align our delivery to the business models and expectations of our clients. We create a clear framework of ownership as well as collaboration from the very start of our programmes. In summary, once we understand the values of our customers and embed these into our operational best practice, we empower partnerships that enhance productivity and efficiency. Promotes a dynamic culture It’s important to understand that your customers form part of your culture too, so listen to them and innovate for their needs. Internally, a dynamic culture ensures that your employees are able to communicate more effectively and feel open about sharing their thoughts, ideas and improvement suggestions. Having aligned values with your customers makes this ethos a lot easier. There’s no question that the better aligned the partnership the more you can reap the benefits that we’ve shared above. One thing to consider is that value alignment relies on transparency - of vision, values and accountabilities. With upfront investment in stakeholder partnership, it requires a significant investment of time, but in today’s competitive market it’s difficult to disregard the benefits that value alignment can bring to a business. If you're an organisation looking to attract the best talent or a candidate wanting to progress your career, then get in touch with Morson or browse our latest jobs here.
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AUTOMOTIVE NEWS | 3 MIN READ Rolls-Royce Power Systems is collaborating with Lab1886 to develop hydrogen fuel cells for stationary power generation. The fuel cells which are being developed will emit no pollutants during operation and if the hydrogen is generated using low-carbon electricity the overall emissions to the atmosphere is zero. Rolls-Royce Power Systems is collaborating with Lab1886, an innovation laboratory from Mercedes-Benz, to develop hydrogen fuel cells for stationary power generation. The units will be sold under the brand name MTU and are aimed at providing continuous and emergency power for safety-critical applications such as data centres. Rolls-Royce Power Systems’ focus is high-speed engines and propulsion systems for transport such as ships, trains and heavy load vehicles which are currently almost always based on diesel engines. That’s why Rolls-Royce believes that fuel cells could be a more environmentally friendly alternative to consider. The fuel cells which are being developed will emit no pollutants during operation and if the hydrogen is generated using low-carbon electricity the overall emissions to the atmosphere is zero. Martin Teigeler, Research and Development chief of Rolls-Royce Power Systems said: “The idea behind the fuel cell is as ingenious as it is simple and we’re all pretty familiar with it. But implementing it in practice can still be a difficult challenge,” “Now that fuel cells have reached series maturity, they’re ready for the commercial market. And we’re delighted to have Lab1886 as our partner, because their technological mindset fits ours perfectly. We’re confident that Mercedes-Benz fuel cell modules have the potential to open up new application possibilities in stationary power generation as well, and that’s our market.” TOP BLOG | Automotive giants Peugeot and Fiat announce plans for merger Susanne Hahn, head of Lab1886 Global added: “Our innovativeness has always been one of the main drivers of our long-term success and cross-industry exchange and collaboration have always been vital to it. We’re delighted to be supporting Rolls-Royce on a pilot project that will bring us closer to a successful energy transition outside the realm of the automobile.” If you're an organisation looking to attract the best talent or a candidate wanting to progress your career, then get in touch with Morson or browse our latest jobs here.
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