When Robert Stewart first bought the company that would grow into SKOPE Industries Limited 45 years ago, it employed 25 people out of a small factory in Christchurch, New Zealand. Today, it boasts a family of 400 employees and is run by Managing Director Guy Stewart, Roberts son.
Under Robert and Guys leadership, the company has flourished, building a global reputation for designing and manufacturing commercial refrigeration solutions. Over the years, the organisation has shifted and evolved, moving from its original focusheating productsto complex commercial refrigeration.
The company was formed in the mid 1940s and Guys parents bought it in the mid 1960s, so when people ask how long he has worked at the business, he answers, for life, or for more than 20 years. As a child, it was his holiday job. After university, he joined the company and has been with the organisation for more than 20 years.
The genesis of it was sparked with Guys fathers decision to buy the business. When he took the reins 13 years ago, Guy took over a company that was already established. Guy had already worked for it for around 10 years, and it had a good base of operations already. As a second generation, Guy views it as his responsibility to take what his parents created and build on it to make it better and more successful.