Cyclone Mobility Ltd Case study

Dave Hawkins, Managing Director of Cyclone in Ottringham near Hull is a man who places much emphasis on deeds rather than words – and he's also something of a sceptic when it comes to anything involving the public sector. So, back in 2008 when a circular from a Yorkshire Development Agency landed on his desk offering business advice and the possibility of cash grants, Dave was quick to initially dismiss the invitation…

COMPANY PROFILE

He, together with Founder of Cyclone Stuart Dunne, had been down that particular road before, said Dave, and it had been "a total waste of time…"

"I'd come to the conclusion that the sole purpose of many of these organisations was to keep themselves in business – leaving precious few cash resources available to the people they were supposed to be helping!" he says.

Dave can't now fully recall the details of the circular but as he says: -

"Something in the circular – a few words or a comment maybe – at least sparked a phone call to them with no great expectations."

This eventually led to Yorkshire & Humber MAS sending in the ICE Partnership to take a look at the company and prepare a Manufacturing Review Report.

Cyclone was founded in 1989 by Stuart who, with an educational background in engineering, was planning to join the RAF until a car accident rendered him tetraplegic (he's learning to fly, by the way!). He used his five month hospitalisation to train as an accountant – and also to design and market a far better, lighter and visually attractive wheelchair than the standard NHS model available at the time…

"Like pushing a Sherman tank around" Stuart wryly comments.

Dave Hawkins, himself a paraplegic and a successful rally driver, joined the company as a sales representative before taking up his role as Managing Director and equal shareholder in September 2007.

Cyclone was originally established in the Wirral – reaching a turnover of some £1.5m at its peak but, following some commercial and financial difficulties not entirely to do with Dave and Stuart which led to the company being sold, the duo were forced into a pre-pack and bought the company (what was left of it) back to their control. The company then relocated to the East Yorkshire region in April 2009.

Dave takes up the story: -

"The reason for taking up the MAS/ICE business development project was for two reasons.

First, Krys Szokalo himself (a top quality partner in the ICE team) and secondly the fact I had zero background of actually running a business. Both Stuart and I were out on the road selling most of the time – we were like wasps in a jam jar; busy, busy, busy and selling successfully but nobody was minding the store!"

Dave is, by his own definition, a stickler for a place for everything and everything in its place but, as he says, the company didn't even have a clue where to put the spanner!

How many times have we heard stories like that, or similar, over the years?

"Systems were in place but not kept updated, no business plan existed, we had a staff member who read incoming e-mails, some with orders attached, and then binned them without taking any further action. It was falling apart behind our backs and if either of us was away for even a day there'd be more problems when we returned. Not surprisingly, the company was losing customers and gaining plenty of complaints."

Stuart commented "The position now is that Dave and I could be away with our respective families for two weeks if necessary and the business would continue to run smoothly"

"Everything changed when ICE came on board – we now have a clearly-defined management structure and a clear strategy moving forward…"

Cyclone is now run much more along business lines – an experienced Production Manager in place together with an enlarged sales team and a business-aware administrator in Sarah Tobell: -

"Krys taught us we have a more important job to do than just capture sales; we've dropped some unprofitable lines and are concentrating on what we do best…" says Dave…

"Get that right and everything else drops into place. The whole team is fizzing with ideas but we now have the confidence to dismiss the ones that won't contribute much to the bottom line and develop the ones that will."

Krys Szokalo remains on the board and, say Stuart and Dave, continued to offer sound business advice. During this interview there was some amusement when the pair recalled a piece of advice Krys proffered early in the relationship: -

"Krys said to us, remember guys, you need to learn to walk before you can run…

Laugh? We almost fell off our wheelchairs!"

Cyclone is increasingly recognised as a specialist – not simply a manufacturer of wheelchairs. Their range encompasses budget, everyday and sports wheelchairs – each one custom-built to the buyer's precise specification and measurements. The aspiration is to be a market leader in fitness and advanced therapy equipment including the rapidly expanding field of FES (Functional Electrical Stimulation) developed by the Christopher and Dana Reeve Foundation and for which Cyclone are European distributors.

Readers will remember Christopher Reeves' role as Superman before a horrible fall from horseback rendered him paralysed – following which he developed a holistic approach to the treatment of people in similar circumstances, which ensured stimulation of muscles and general fitness improvement.

Dave and Stuart take their cue for future development from the unlikely example of Harley-Davidson, whose CEO insisted they were not simply a manufacturer of motorbikes – rather they were a "Lifestyle" company: -

"What we sell," he famously said, "is the ability for a 43-year old accountant to dress in black leathers, ride through small towns in America and have people be afraid of him!"

And being serious for a moment it is a fact that after eight long years of promoting Harley-Davidson as a lifestyle company and not a builder of fast motorbikes to the financiers of Wall Street the company's market capitalisation leaped by an astonishing $15 billion.

As Stuart says: -

"Our goal is much more than building wheelchairs. Our job is to improve the fitness, lifestyle, mobility and overall well-being of our customers on a one-to-one basis."