A Travis Perkins Hire member of staff is toasting his silver anniversary with the business after racking up 25 years with the UK’s largest builders’ merchant.

David Paley has been helping tradespeople in the North East of England secure all the tools they need to complete their building projects for two-and-a-half decades, having worked as a Hire Manager at Travis Perkins since 2001.

During his tenure, Paley has worked at two branches. He started at the Durham branch where he was the first Branch Hire Manager in the North East, a position he held until 2020, when he became Branch Hire Manager at the Burnopfield branch.

Paley has worked in the hire industry all his life, starting at a local family business in 1983, and he says the industry has changed drastically in the last 40 years.

He said: "I cannot believe I have clocked up 25 years with Travis Perkins. It feels like it was only yesterday when I walked through the door for the first time in the Durham branch.

"I have been working in the hire industry for more than 40 years and I have absolutely loved my time with the business. It is a great company to work for.

"There have been a lot of changes during my tenure including an increased emphasis on health and safety protocols as we have modernised - these are absolutely vital.  

"Safety is very important and there has been a lot of new training over the last few years to ensure staff stay inside the expected standards.

"Travis Perkins has continued to evolve with things like ‘Pay-As-You-Go' hire coming in and the rollout of that over the last few months has been excellent. It has really helped take our offering to a new level."

To mark his 25th anniversary with the business, Paley received a selection of vouchers from Travis Perkins and his milestone was celebrated in branch with his colleagues. 

David Bell, Branch Manager at Travis Perkins Burnopfield, said: "It is great for everyone in the branch to be able to celebrate and acknowledge David on this incredible milestone.

"He works so hard on a day-to-day basis managing the hire aspect of the branch and he is a great team member. To complete 25 years with the business is an exceptional achievement and we are all very proud of him."