Since 2002, the company, which operates under the brand name INTERKAB (International Cable Management Ltd) has been serving the worldwide oil and gas, petrochemical, power generation, shipbuilding, and renewable energy industries. The business is project-focused, supporting major operators and EPC contractors with their requirements for any combination of standard, non-standard, or specification cables. Its mission is simple to work in partnership with clients, continually adding value to their operation, both directly through minimising the costs of cables and indirectly by streamlining their individual procurement and expediting processes.
INTERKAB was founded by the late Mike Knox as a privately owned and operated business. Brian Smith was asked in November 2014 to take over the position of managing director shortly before Mike passed away in December 2014.
It was a proud moment when I was asked by Mike to step up to being managing director, Brian says. I consider it a privilege to be trusted to run a family business; however, it does help that the family are all very knowledgeable about the cable industry, having lived through it with Mike for the past 30 to 40 years, both with INTERKAB and his previous companies within the cable industry. I’ve also got the knowledge and expertise of his son Chris who co-founded INTERKAB and holds the position of non-executive director. He’s a valuable source of knowledge and I have a relationship where I can speak to the family members on a regular basis. It’s evident that Mike’s passion for the industry has rubbed off on them.
Mike had a thirst for research and possessed extensive knowledge of both the cable industry and its role within the oil and gas sector. He understood the often complex interconnecting links between operators in that sector and the projects they were working on. Accordingly, he was able to understand their requirements and help make the link between identifying potential new customer opportunities and, as a result, which suppliers would be best placed to support them.
Brian has a lot of respect for the companys founder and says he learned a great deal from him. Sadly, I only had the opportunity to work for him for about two years but, even in that short time, the knowledge and experience he passed on was invaluable. One of the key principles he taught me was that, by putting in place a structure whereby individuals could maximise their potential, this also maximised the chances of commercial success for the company.