Tony Cook Ltd
Founded in 1966, Tony Cook Ltd has more than 40 years experience as agricultural contractors in the Hull and East Yorkshire area. With a number of premises in the region, the company is passionate about Hull, a commitment that has been emphasised by Tony Cook Ltd joining the supply chain for Hull Esteem Consortium's construction of the new Archbishop Sentamu Academy in Hull.
Joan Gamble, marketing manager at Tony Cook Ltd, said: "Tony Cook has provided fencing to Archbishop Sentamu Academy, consisting of chain-link fencing and gates, palisade security fencing and Bastion Duo sports fencing.
"We initially got involved prior to attending the Esteem Expo at Hull Truck Theatre in June, through an association with major builders in the area. Another big factor in becoming involved with Hull Esteem Consortium was the reputation that the company has built up over 44 years of trading, particularly for our quality workmanship and professionalism.
"Working on local projects, especially longer term projects like Esteem helps to give us longer term security which means that in turn we are able to increase our workforce and use local labour. We have taken on more local people in the last twelve months than ever before which benefits our company through being a good choice of labour available.
"Our reputation is first and foremost to us and working in association with a project like Esteem helps to maintain our reputation. Short term, working with Esteem gives us some financial stability and the ability to take on local labour, and longer term, it further enhances our reputation for reliability and of course, our future.
" It is fantastic that Esteem encourages the use of local labour; whether through giving young people apprentice opportunities and subsequent basic labour skills and knowledge, or by providing re-employment for those who've recently been made redundant. Creating and using a local supply chain benefits this part of the country by keeping people who live here in employment.
"This is an area of the country where unemployment is high and fewer industries still remain, whilst on the other hand, housing has always been relatively cheap. By reinvesting into schools, people are encouraged to remain living and working in the area and others may be encouraged to move into the area and bring wealth with them, again benefitting local businesses.
"The Hull Building Schools for the Future programme is a very worthwhile project - more schools are needed to reduce class sizes and to replace and upgrade existing schools. More money should be ploughed into schools by the government, not cut!"